Kate's Savior
by purplangel
Summary: *Kate has been kidnapped* by an underground sex trafficking ring. Castle's trying to save her. This story is on the dark side as it will have light torture, light bondage, voyeurism. No BDSM/No rape. Rating NC17.
1. Chapter 1

This story is on the darker side as it involves kidnapping, light torture, light bondage, & voyeurism. (No BDSM or rape) If you hang in there with me, I do promise a happy ending as I'm a Caskett shipper FOREVER.

Inspired by LJ Kink Meme's prompt where Castle/Beckett are not in a relationship yet, have been kidnapped and forced to continually have sex with one another.

Rated NC17. Set sometime during season 4 before 47 seconds.

**XXXXX**

Kate was standing in an eight by eight feet room, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows. She inhaled deeply the crisp, clean air, grateful the air conditioning was on full blast, even though it sickened her to realize the sole reason for that was because the cold air pebbled the nipples of the teenage girls up for auction… It made their bodies more enticing to the buyers.

_God, we live in a sick world._

She was grateful that the cool, ceramic tiles brought some relief to her ravaged feet. She could barely stand on them due to the pain but was thankful that they were no longer bleeding. She wouldn't be surprised though,** if** she made it out of this hell-hole alive, to find out her feet had been permanently scarred.

The speaker inside the room crackled as the auctioneer prepared to start the bidding.

Even though she had a black cloth covering her eyes, she knew the second the spotlight highlighted her cell and put her on full display. There was no hiding from her captors. There was no hiding from the buyers.

She wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing her defeated or broken. She was a born fighter, a born survivor… She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of showing any fear.

Kate stood tall and proud, chin up, shoulders back; her muscles aching from the strain of having her hands behind her back in handcuffs for the last 6 hours.

She was having a little difficulty breathing due to the leather bustier they forced her to wear. The off-white number was excruciatingly tight along her ribs, shoving her breasts up to make them appear fuller. The underwire bra was digging into her flesh. She was extremely uncomfortable in the matching G-string that was a size too small for her as well. Her legs were adorned with black fishnet stockings and the garter belts, made of lace, had a tiny pink bow.

She inwardly smiled as she remembered how furious Mr. Collins had been when he found out she couldn't wear the 4 inch, hot-pink stilettos to complete her ensemble… He'd gone ballistic when he learned that Nico had gotten carried away with the surgical blade and most likely damaged a couple of nerves in her feet. She couldn't stand in the heels, let alone walk in them.

Collins had ranted and raved about how important it was for each girl he sold to portray a certain image; an image that would ensure him top dollar for the sale.

And her attire required 4 inch, hot pink heels to highlight her number one feature, - her gloriously long, model legs. She smirked, finding some sort of obscure joy in the knowledge that her torture had caused the sadistic man to be irate.

She shifted slightly to find a more comfortable spot to stand in, but it caused a burning sensation to shoot up her achilles heel. The pain triggered memories of her earlier torture. Her body instinctively cringed in remembrance of the first slice of the blade.

She had awoken from being drugged and found herself lying on a short, steel table; her hands and ankles bound by restraints; a blindfold secured around her eyes.

She knew immediately that she was wearing constricting lingerie but before she could think twice about it, a deep, cultured voice addressed her by name.

"Detective Beckett." She'd forever remember Mr. Collins' husky voice as it struck a chord of terror within her.

"Detective Beckett, you're going to tell me how much information your team has acquired concerning my operation." He leaned close to her face and whispered hotly in her ear, "I know that you're trying to think of every possible scenario to escape from here, but let me caution you…"

Kate gagged as he blew hot air into her mouth; his breath reeked of expensive Havana cigars.

"We have guards hidden throughout the complex."

She shivered in disgust when his lips suckled her ear. He took a deep whiff of her neck. "You certainly don't smell like a cop… Mmm" he hummed while he ran a finger along the ridge of the bustier, grazing the swell of her breasts. "I may not put you up on the market tonight, Detective. I may want to sample the goods first." He walked lazily around the steel table, openly admiring her beautiful, toned body.

Kate was revolted just thinking about the man ogling her.

"It's a shame you're not in Vice," he purred, "with a body like yours, you'd be the perfect choice to play a desperate prostitute." He dragged his index finger up along the fishnet stockings and played with the tantalizing pink bow. "You'd arrest more Johns in one day than I'd guess some of your fellow Officers would in 6 months."

She threw-up a tiny bit in her mouth.

She decided right then and there, that there was no way in hell, Mr. Collins was getting any information out of her.

He chuckled, "I know you won't willingly give me the information I'm seeking, so Nico's here to give you a little incentive." Kate instinctively tried to loosen the restraints. "Don't worry, Detective. We never damage the merchandise where it can be seen. . . Nico!" he snapped his fingers, and it was then that she felt the scalpel.

Sharp, intense, searing pain on the bottom of her right foot made her body shake. Mr. Collins droned on, telling her the pain would end as soon as she started talking, but Kate inherently knew that the bastard enjoyed getting-off watching others being tortured.

She let her mind take her away to an unknown destination. She was walking along the beach in a yellow sundress, ear buds in place, listening to Celine Dion belt out a beautiful ballad. She was strolling along, kicking the sand up into the air; the sand surprisingly hot between her toes. She was eagerly waiting for someone to join her, … Cas -tle.

"Cas – tle," she whispered. A soft smile graced her lips.

Surprisingly, the next cuts seemed dull, thick and slow; … the pain barely registered as she believed her body may have partially shut down and gone into a brief state-of-shock.

She was extremely proud of herself for not once screaming out in pain while Nico worked his 'surgical magic' on her feet. She didn't even moan when she realized the dripping sound she was hearing was coming from blood droplets falling off her heel and onto the floor below.

She didn't scream until, … until he brought out the cigarette lighter.

The intercom crackled once more and hatred filled her entire body as she recognized Mr. Collins' voice.

"Ladies and Gentleman. Welcome once more to 'The Auction'. Tonight we have a special piece of merchandise." The spotlight brightened, focusing solely on Kate.

"This alluring woman is not for the faint-of-heart. . . She's older than our usual inventory, but she's also one of the finest pieces we've ever offered. She would truly be your greatest possession, … if you were able to tame her." His chuckle sent hatred down her spine. "I must warn you though that she's dangerous. She's highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat as well as all manner of weaponry."

Collins must have given some sort of signal to Nico as at that time she felt thick fingers tugging at her blindfold. She blinked repeatedly, trying to remove the haze from her eyes so she could focus on her surroundings.

"So bid wisely, gentlemen, as she comes with a certain **risk**." Collins' suave voice continued darkly. "I'm positive she's highly proficient in all manners of, - - death." He motioned to Nico. "Now let's take a closer look at her, shall we?"

NIco pushed her forward towards the front of the glass. Her feet left blood spots on the tile.

Kate stumbled slightly but quickly regained her balance, praying for strength to get through this nightmare.

_They will find me... Castle, Esposito, Ryan, Gates are looking for me. They will be here soon. All I have to do is be strong, hold on. They will find me._

Nico put his hand in the air and twirled his index finger around and around in a circle, indicating for Kate to turn around.

She knew that now was not the right time to fight… It was not the right time to try and break free and make her escape, especially with her feet torn to shreds. She would also never make it past the 300 pound man in the room with her. She decided to play it safe and obey Nico's instructions.

_Stay alive, Kate. Stay alive. You can get through this, - - for Castle._

She turned around slowly, her ass fully exposed in the G-string. She clenched her teeth together in disgust, knowing that she was just a piece of meat on display for some horny, old rich men who got their jollies from kidnapped girls.

God, she was going to be ecstatic when she had Mr. Collins cornered, shoved down on the floor, knee in his back, reading him his Miranda rights while she slapped the cuffs on his wrists.

Better yet, she was going to be thrilled when she brought him down with her Glock 19, and just for the fun-of-it, stomped on his groin first before slamming the hand cuffs on his wrists.

And she wouldn't even bat an eye if the opportunity arose to kill the bastard outright.

"We'll start the bidding at $50,000."


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the wonderful support to this story. I was touched by the Guest comment: ****In spite of the subject matter this is an amazing piece of writing. **_**I**_**t's not like you can say that nothing like this is happening in the world** **today, ****because it is. **

**XXXXX**

Rick Castle warily took in his surroundings. No expense was spared in this circular room with Brazilian rosewood floors and Persian rugs.

Paintings from modern expressionist painters adorned the walls. A large crystal chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling. Maroon, brocade drapes hung in sections over the walls.

He was seated at a podium-style desk made of mahogany wood. There were 15 desks in the room placed in a circle. A control panel was installed in the lower left corner. It was obviously used for the bidding process.

He counted eleven other gentlemen in the room… mingling, talking in hushed tones.

One of the men, dressed in a Valentino suit, approached him with an air of superiority.

"Mr. Alex Rogers," the man stuck out his hand to shake Castle's, "Welcome to our soiree. It's always nice to have a new client join us."

He noted that the man was 6 feet tall, in his early 50's, with dark hair, sprinkled with gray, and had an impressive mustache. He also smelled like Cuban cigars.

"I'm Mr. Collins, your host this evening."

Rick smiled. "I'm happy to be here… I understand the quality of girls is exceptional."

"Yes," he grinned fully, showing clean, white, bright teeth. For some reason, his grin made Rick's toes curl. "Some might say that our inventory is 'extraordinary'."

Collins glanced towards the blond Swedish hostess in the doorway and asked, "Has Katrina shown you how to use the panel?"

"No, I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting your striking hostess. Would you mind introducing us?"

He laughed coyly. "Katrina is not for sale… I can tell, Mr. Rogers, that you like your women tall, svelte, as well as athletic."

"Yes, I do. I also like them to be a little older… Teenage girls do not appeal to me." His gut clenched in anxiety just thinking about his own teenage daughter being held captive by this scum-bag. "I definitely prefer my women to be more… experienced."

"Well, I have the perfect choice for you then; if you're up for a challenge." Collins black eyes bore into Rick's blue ones. "You certainly look though like a man who thrives on a challenge."

Castle became uncomfortable under Collins' heated stare.

"Our first girl of the night is a rare jewel indeed. She's beyond gorgeous, … classic model looks, brunette, tall, toned, creamy white skin that anyone would love to feast upon."

Castle's eyes darkened at his words. . . He had to fight back the urge to deck this smug bastard. "Yes, she sounds exactly like what I'm looking for... Girl number one?"

"Yes, she's first up on the list."

"Thank you for the recommendation."

"You're welcome." He leaned towards the control panel and pointed to a button. "This button here is the way you bid… Bidding goes in $5,000 increments." He then pointed to a control knob. "This knob controls your chair. You can swivel it 180 degrees to get a better look at the merchandise."

"Thank you." Castle held his hand out once more to shake Mr. Collins'. "It's nice to see that this truly is a gentleman's club." He clenched his jaw at the blatant lie.

Collins' laugh sounded foreign. "We are nothing but **gentlemen **here, Mr. Rogers." And with a nod of his head, Collins turned away from him.

Castle felt like he needed to go into the men's restroom and wash the slime off his hands.

"Take your seats, Gentlemen. You're about to get a look at the merchandise."

The maroon, brocade drapes surrounding the walls opened simultaneously. He held back a gasp. The drapes were covering small, enclosed rooms about 8 feet high and 8 feet in length. The floor, ceiling and walls were glass so the girls were prominently displayed. Each wore a revealing or risqué outfit.

He noticed first a teenage girl around 18 years old with dark skin, long ebony hair and frightened eyes. She was wearing a Catholic-school-girl uniform with red, Mary Jane shoes.

His eyes quickly took in the next girl over from her… Christ, she had to be only 15, with short, strawberry blond hair and blue eyes the color of the sky. She was dressed as a fairy… colorful wings adorned her back and there was sparkling glitter all over her body.

His heart almost broke as she reminded him so much of Alexis.

He quickly scanned the rest of the glass cells. _Where is she?_ His heart galloped when he couldn't find her. There was an exotic, Asian woman covered in a barely-there kimono… A 20-year-old Russian beauty was dressed like Elektra.

He glanced over his left shoulder and breathed in a sigh of relief… There she was... Kate.

Kate.

Unlike the other girls, she was blindfolded, and her hands were obviously restrained behind her back.

A surge of hot passion shot through his bloodstream when it registered what she was wearing.

She was dressed in a sinfully short, cream bustier, with laces criss-crossing down the entire front, starting at her breasts, which were prominently displayed in the corset. He licked his lips as his eyes feasted on her tempting breasts, then his gaze scanned down the laces to find the bustier ended above her belly button.

Four inches of bare skin was exposed at her midriff, giving the buyers a hint of her defined six-pack.

His eyes couldn't help but descend lower… The matching leather G-string barely covered her pelvis, _Ohhh God_ …

_Get a grip, Rick. Get a grip._

But it was her legs that completely enthralled him, … encased in sexy, black fishnet stockings that made her appear taller, as if her legs went on forever and -

And he couldn't help it as his member jumped in excitement.

Fuck, his reaction to her completely disgusted him. He was not one of these horny, lecherous men in the room.

Over the years, he'd had several fantasies of Kate Beckett in sexy lingerie… He'd pictured her in teddies, bustiers, babydolls, slips, camis, etcetera but never, **never** in his wildest dreams, had he imagined seeing her in a slutty bustier for the first time in this horrific situation.

The crackling of the intercom drew his attention away from her and he looked around briefly at the other buyers, noticing older men that reeked of wealth.

"Ladies and Gentleman. Welcome once more to 'The Auction'." Mr. Collins said assuredly. "Tonight we have a special piece of merchandise." The spotlight brightened, focusing solely on Kate.

Castle hit the switch to swivel his chair towards Kate so he was facing her cell directly.

"This alluring woman is not for the faint-of-heart. . . She's older than our usual inventory, but she's also one of the finest pieces we've ever offered. She would truly be your greatest possession, … if you're able to tame her." His chuckle made Castle cringe. "I must warn you though that she's dangerous. She's highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat as well as all manner of weaponry."

The 300-pound, hired muscle in the room with Kate approached her and removed the blindfold. She blinked repeatedly, trying to get her bearings.

She looked so gorgeous with her tousled wavy hair, red lips, and dark eyes tinged with … anger.

_That's my detective, _he thought proudly._ Hold onto that anger. _

He breathed a deep sigh of relief to see that her captives hadn't broken her spirit yet.

Collins continued, "So bid wisely, gentlemen, as she comes with a certain **risk**… I'm positive she's highly proficient in all manners of … death." He motioned to the hired muscle. "Now let's take a closer look at her, shall we?"

He sat up straighter in his leather chair when the ape pushed her forward towards the front of the glass.

She stumbled slightly but quickly regained her balance.

_Damn ape._

The man put his hand in the air and twirled his index finger around and around in a circle, indicating for Kate to turn around.

She pivoted slowly, revealing a perfectly contoured, round, hard ass …

_Wait, … what in the world is that? _He squinted his eyes to look closer. _Ohhh Lord_, his groin tightened.

A pair of angel wings, tattooed on her upper right cheek, seemed to flap at him as she turned.

Even in this dire situation, he couldn't stop the half-smile that graced his lips.

_Of course her tattoo is on her ass... teasing, remarkable, exasperating, sexy woman._

"I'd like to fly with those wings." He heard mumbled from a man two seats away from him. A couple of gentlemen laughed at his comment.

Rick sneered.

"We'll start the bidding at $50,000."

He couldn't click his button fast enough.

…..

Kate heard several sporadic dings as bids were placed.

After a minute or so, Collins came back over the speaker. "Just a moment buyers, we have a request. Mr. Thornton would like a more intimate look at the merchandise."

_No, oh hell __NO__,_ she thought anxiously as Nico stealthily approached her.

"**Don't** touch me," she grated out.

"I won't, … if you don't make me," he said grinning wickedly. "Face me. Feet 12 inches apart. Bend over and keep your legs straight."

_Shit!_

She hesitated until Nico drew close and said he was happy to assist her with the command… The way he was ogling her made her sick to her stomach, so she hesitatingly obeyed.

She turned her back to the buyers, stood in the stance she always asked a perp to get into before she frisked him, and slowly bent over.

Castle looked away in fury as soon as he realized what she'd been forced to do. He respected and cared about her too much to demean her in any way, so he turned from Kate to study Mr. Thornton, the man who'd requested a more intimate view.

His blood boiled as a devilish smile spread across Mr. Thornton's thin, lined face as he openly leered at her. The old man was practically drooling.

_That sick pervert is never getting his hands on Kate, _he promised himself as well as her.

He had to restrain himself from jumping out of his seat, tackling the S.O.B. and beating him senseless.

"We'll continue the bidding now. She's up to $90,000."

Castle was a little worried by this point as Collins' auctions required cash and on such short notice, he could only pull out of his bank account $150,000 without raising suspicion.

He glanced around anxiously… From what he could tell, only he and Mr. Thornton were bidding on her.

He turned to Thornton and said brashly, "Look… I want her… She's the only one I want… What will it take to get you to stop bidding?"

The older man simpered. "Mr. Rogers, is it?"

He nodded in the affirmative.

"At my age, I haven't had a woman present a challenge to me in 20 years." He looked back at Kate longingly. "I instinctively know that 'Angel Wings' there will be able to fulfill **all** my needs."

"I get the impression, Sir, that" he stumbled over the endearment, "Angel Wings - just might be a bit too much for you to handle… I happen to be looking for a new sparring partner and with her hand to hand combat training, she fits the bill nicely."

"Sparring partner," the older man laughed cynically, "Is that the correct term to use these days?"

Rick chuckled at his response. He decided to use his famous 'Castle charm' to try and win him over.

"Plus, she'd by my first purchase here at your establishment… I'd see it as a personal favor to me if you'd let me buy her." When he saw that he piqued Thornton's interest, he continued, "I'd be indebted to you, Mr. Thornton."

Thornton paused to think, looking at him thoughtfully.

"I do relish the idea of someone owing me a favor…" He looked directly into Rick's eyes. "And just so it's understood, Mr. Rogers… It would be a very big favor… No questions asked."

"Of course, that's understandable. . . Mr. Collins has my personal information. He will know how to reach me when you want to collect." Rick spoke calmly and with assurance, even though on the inside his guts were churning.

"Very well then… You just bought yourself a fine piece of ass… Congratulations."

Castle nodded to him in thanks and pressed the bidding button one more time.

A few anxious seconds passed before Collins' voice deadpanned over the speaker, "It looks like we have a winner… Mr. Alex Rogers, Katrina will escort you to my office to settle the bill."

He stood up, loosened his tie a bit and nodded to the room, "Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure."

Katrina motioned for him to follow her towards Collins' office.

He took one last look at Kate who was speaking to the ape with fire in her eyes and from the look on her face, using her 'bitchy' tone… He would never willingly admit he found that tone of hers indescribably hot.

For the first time in 36 hours since she went missing, he felt a ray of hope.

Kate was still a force to be reckoned with, … still the spit-fire, controlling detective who took no crap from anyone, … still the fiery, independent woman who could hold her own against the foulest scum-bags in NYC.

And as he watched his gloriously beautiful detective rip her arm away from Ape man's grasp, he determined that he wasn't going to wait for her any longer. If they got out of this horrible situation alive, he was going to make his intentions clear to her tonight. No more waiting.

_When we're out of danger and alone, face-to-face, … I'm going to rip into her for tackling this sex-ring-operation without me, for shutting me out… I'm going to invade her personal space and tell her that I'm done waiting for that damn, stubborn wall of hers to come down, and then… and then… I'm going to__** show**__ her that I am __**more**__ than just a partner._

_She will know by day's end that I need her in every aspect of my life, … that she is the love of my life._

"Mr Rogers. This way please."

Katrina openly admired him as he approached her.

She'd found as a child that one of her talents in life was the ability to read people… Mr. Collins had noticed that rare quality in her, cultivated it and honed it to his advantage.

Rogers was different from their usual buyers. . . He was younger, extremely handsome, tall with broad shoulders, … but the reason he stood out from the others was the bright aura that surrounded him… His aura told her he was a good man, an honest man.

The smile lines surrounding his mouth and the crinkles around his eyes, told her he laughed often. This man had light, love and joy in his life.

She got the distinct impression that he lived to better the world around him. He was a rare person indeed.

_It's a great pity Mr. Collins is about to destroy him, s_he thought with a touch of sadness. _The world definitely needs more of this caliber of man._

"It's the last door on the right. Go on in and have a seat. I'll bring your briefcase and cell phone to you." Katrina directed him to a steel door which was secluded from the other offices in the hallway.

When he opened the door, he was shocked to find a sterile room with metal shelves… It was obviously not an office and - -

Icy fear slammed through his veins as he recognized items on the shelves.

_"Kate,"_ was his last thought before he felt a sharp twinge in his neck, similar to a bee sting… Then, there was nothing but darkness.

**XXXXX**

**A/N: ****I stole the tattoo idea from KateMB! ;) **

**Next chapter I'll write the case that started this nightmare.**


	3. Chapter 3

**4 days before The Auction:**

"TOD looks to be between 1 am – 3 am this morning." Lanie rattled off to Beckett and Castle. "I'm guessing from the bruises on her neck that COD is strangulation, and from the size of the fingers, a very large man murdered her. Of course, I'll know more after the autopsy."

Castle couldn't take his gaze from the young girl's broken body. She was tiny… He guessed her to be about 14 years old, a wisp of a girl at 100 pounds soaking wet, maybe 5 feet tall. She had long, straight, auburn hair with a 2 inch strip that was dyed purple. Freckles covered her button nose. She wasn't wearing make-up.

She was dressed like a punk rocker, … wearing a bright pink camisole with Steven Tyler on the front and a black, leather mini-skirt… Thigh high boots completed the ensemble.

It bothered Kate to notice that she wasn't wearing a bra.

"God, she's just so young," he couldn't help commenting. "How could anyone murder a helpless girl?" His voice caught and Beckett knew that he was picturing Alexis' as the victim.

"Castle," she whispered as she lightly touched his arm. "We're going to get this S.O.B."

"Ryan, have CSU scour this alleyway. I want every item bagged that could possibly be linked to her or her killer, and I don't care how insignificant it looks…" She said authoritatively. "Movie ticket stub, bobby pin, hair clip, rubber band, even a chewed up piece of gum… **Anything** that might be associated to this girl or her murderer, got it?"

"Got it," said Ryan and as he turned away from the scene she said, "Tell them to make this their top priority."

"Yeah Beckett, I will."

She bent down on her haunches to get a closer look at the victims face. "Lanie, does this look like smudged lipstick to you?"

Lanie leaned closer towards the girls' face. "It certainly could be… It also looks like she was wearing false eyelashes… I believe there is a hint of glue on her lid."

"Yes." Kate looked thoughtful but couldn't quite put her finger on what was bothering her.

Lanie inspected the victim's pores. "Her face has been cleaned recently… It's scrubbed raw in a few places."

"I need you to find out when her make-up was removed, ... before or after she died."

"Sure, Kate… I'll let you know after I get her body back to the morgue."

"Thanks, Lanie. I'll take you to lunch at The Hard Rock Café next week if I have the autopsy results within 6 hours."

She smiled widely. "You got a deal, girl. Results in 6 hours."

She rose from her haunches and ran a hand shakily through her hair.

Castle looked deeply into her eyes and saw something he rarely saw in their hazel depths – indecision? … fear?

"I've got a bad feeling about this case, Castle… Damn it, I hate it when a child or teenager is murdered."

She turned away from him and walked towards Espo. He followed her every step of the way.

"Espo, I'm putting you in charge of making sure that every store owner and employee is interviewed within a 3 block radius of this alley. Make sure you and Ryan personally interview the staff. I'm not trusting this investigation to another team."

"I'll get it done."

"You've got 24 hours." Espo's eyes widened at the small time frame, but he nodded to her in agreement. They all had difficulty sleeping at night when a child-killer was free, roaming their streets.

"Let's go, Castle. I want to get back to the precinct ASAP so I can search through the Missing Person's database. I need to be the one to tell her parents that she's gone."

God, he admired everything about Detective Kate Beckett… She was cunning and clever and intuitive, a born leader on the force.

Castle had noticed over the years how people were naturally drawn to her, naturally respected her, and it was due to that rare quality she possessed in spades – empathy. Her heart was pure in a profession where she was surrounded by darkness every day.

He followed her as she walked quickly to her illegally parked cruiser.

By the time he was sitting in the front seat, seat belt strapped, the car was started and she was thrumming her fingers on the steering wheel, looking anxiously over her left shoulder to merge into traffic.

"What's wrong?" he asked sincerely... It was obvious that she was pretty shaken up over the body, and if he were being honest with himself, he was just as shaken as her. "I'm here for you, you know; if you want to talk about it."

She looked deeply into his blue cerulean eyes and thought once more how blessed and lucky she was to have him in her life.

"I know." She smiled at him before merging into traffic.

"Call it women's intuition, Detective's intuition, whatever you'd like," she swirled her hand in the air, "but I just know there are more victims out there than this young girl… I feel - -" she paused and looked over at him wondering how to convey her thoughts.

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she spoke next…"I felt this immense dread when I looked at her body. There's only one other time I've felt that way, Castle, … and it was when I realized that Jerry Tyson, the Triple X killer, had you and Ryan hostage."

He reached over and grabbed her hand on the steering wheel, squeezing it, lingering longer than necessary.

"It scares the shit out of me feeling the same way I did then… I'm afraid this man is another Jerry Tyson, … or worse."

And when she said the words, Castle's heart sank.

…..

Two hours later, they were staring at a picture of Eden Grey, a 9th Grader at a local All Girls Academy Prep school, a cultured, private school for kids of the wealthy. She'd been missing for 5 days.

Eden was 14 and a half, a natural beauty, and a straight A student. The photo showed her in a light blue Abercrombie and Fitch jacket plus jean shorts. Her hair was in a ponytail, with no purple dye, and the only make-up she wore was mascara and lipgloss. She looked so happy and carefree looking over the railing of a tour boat headed out to the Statue of Liberty.

"Beckett, this isn't a girl with a punk-rock persona." He said assuredly. "She's insecure, shy - still striving to find out who she is - probably just experienced her first crush… She reminds me so much of –"

"Alexis," she finished for him.

"Yes." He took a deep breath, "God, it's just so tragic, so senseless."

Espo sauntered over, "Beckett, parents just arrived. Ryan put them in interrogation room #2."

"Thanks Espo… Castle, would you mind if I had a few minutes alone with them first?"

He looked a little surprised, but said, "Sure Beckett. Not a problem. I'll just be in observation… Signal me if you'd like my help."

"I will." She flashed him her 100-watt smile, … the one that made his heart flutter… The one he longed to wake up to every single morning for the rest of his life.

He watched in awe as she told Eden's parents reverently about finding the body of their little girl. She spoke in hushed tones, offered her condolences, sympathized with their pain, told them both that she could relate to their suffering and that she was going to do everything in her power to catch Eden's murderer and make sure he never hurt another girl again.

And even though it might be the hundredth time he'd watched Detective Kate Beckett in action, … this time felt different… more personal because he knew how her heart was affected by Eden Grey. She wasn't just a Detective conversing with the victim's parents. She was a woman who'd also been fractured by a murdered loved one.

And he didn't think it was possible, but he fell more in love with her that day.

"I need you to understand that I have to ask you both some difficult questions."

They simultaneously nodded their heads… Mrs. Grey was trying to stifle her tears, while Mr. Grey looked like he might be in shock.

Kate asked all the standard questions, 'Do you know if anyone might want to harm your daughter? Was anyone upset with her? Was she acting differently in the last few months? Did she have a new set of friends? Did her sleeping or eating habits change recently? Had her grades slipped? Anything unusual in her behavior lately? Did she use drugs?'

Their answers were exactly what both Castle and Beckett expected… Their daughter was a delight to have around, sweet, innocent, would never harm a fly, loved by everyone, adored by classmates and teachers alike. Nothing had changed in their daughter's life. They had no clue who might want to harm her.

Beckett then stared directly into Mr. Grey's eyes and asked, "Do you have any enemies, Mr. Grey? … Is there anyone who might want to hurt you?"

His eyes darted around the room, and his leg started shaking uncontrollably. He licked his dry lips.

"No - no one." He said, his voice quivering. "I just can't believe that she's gone… My lovely, sweet Eden." Tears pooled into his eyes.

Kate turned to the 2-way mirror and threw Castle a meaningful look… He knew immediately what she was asking him. He left the observation room and entered the interrogation area.

"This is Richard Castle, a consultant here at the 12th." She introduced Eden's parents to him.

Rick acknowledged them. "I'm sorry for your loss," he uttered, but even to his own ears, it sounded hollow.

"Mrs. Grey, would you please come with me?" Rick held out his hand to her. "I would love to hear more about your daughter… I have a 17-year-old daughter myself who is the light of my life."

She looked anxiously at her husband, "Go Elizabeth." Mr. Grey squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, "It's okay. I should speak with Detective Beckett alone."

…..

Thirty minutes later Mr. Grey came into the waiting area…"Elizabeth, we should go. We have to head down to the morgue to start preparations."

"Yes." She turned to Rick. "Thank you, Mr. Castle," she said sincerely. "I don't know how I could have survived this day without your understanding. I do trust you and Detective Beckett to make things right again for my daughter. "

"I promise you that Eden is our top priority… I won't personally rest until her murderer is behind bars."

"Thank you again," she whispered.

Castle was anxious to speak with Beckett to find out what happened with Mr. Grey.

Rick looked for her but didn't immediately see her. He passed Ryan and asked if he'd seen Beckett.

"She's in with Gates," came the reply.

"Thanks."

Gates' door was closed but as he passed her office, Kate's raised voice was easy to hear… The hairs on the back of his neck stood up when she said, "I want him off the case, Sir… I can't worry about him or his daughter with a psychopath like Collins out there. I need to be able to focus solely on catching this maniac, and I'm afraid that Castle will be a hindrance."

_What the hell is going on?_

He knocked twice before opening the office door. Both women turned towards him.

"Mr. Castle, wait your turn. I'll be with you in a few minutes," Gates' said gruffly.

_Fuck,_ Kate thought. She could tell from the expression on Castle's face that he had overheard her and was hurt by her words; but right now, her main concern had to be Alexis' safety. If Collins even got a whiff that her team was investigating him, she knew he'd never hesitate to take Alexis and put her up for sale in his undercover sex-ring operation. She couldn't even fathom that as a possibility so Castle had to be removed from the case. She knew it would hurt him, but in the long run, for her peace-of-mind, it had to be done.

"Sir, I'm the one who decides whether or not he shadows me."

"I'll support your decision, Detective, … and even though I'm not a fan of Mr. Castle, I wonder if this isn't a mistake... He's been a contributing member of your team these past few years." She looked intently at Kate's pursed lips and stubborn stance. "If you're positive though about shutting him out, send him in here."

"No, Captain. I'll tell him. He needs to hear it from me."

"Yes, he should hear it from you."

Kate went first into the break room to pour herself a strong cup of coffee. She needed the caffeine jolt right now. She needed some liquid courage before her confrontation with Castle.

After finishing her cup, she found the boys surrounding Espo's computer.

They were looking at Horatio Collins file… She didn't need to read about the psychopath as she had already come across him back in her rookie years when he worked for the drug cartel in Manhattan. She had learned though, through Mr. Grey, that he moved up in the ranks and his expertise now resided in trafficking young women here in New York… an underground sex-ring operation that brought in about a million a month.

Mr Grey was Collin's financial advisor and investment banker. Eden had been taken because he'd secretly stolen funds from Collins over the past year. His daughter was the price to pay for his thievery… Collins had eerily told Mr. Grey that he wouldn't kill him because he wanted him to suffer, … suffer with the knowledge that his daughter was being sold as a sex slave.

Mr. Grey was inconsolable at that point and had broken down, sobs racking his small frame.

Beckett had been able to get out of him that something must have gone wrong with Collins' plans as he knew Eden wasn't supposed to be murdered... She was supposed to be sold in 4 days time.

Beckett seethed with the knowledge that Horatio Collins' was back on the grid… He was suspected of murdering Officer Gettle's wife 9 years ago, but the witness had disappeared, and with no new leads after a year's investigation, the case had gone cold. Gettle had eventually had a nervous-breakdown and left the force.

It had been traumatic for everyone involved... Beckett had been finishing up her rookie year with Royce at the time, and remembered how it affected him as Gettle was his ex-partner.

It was an open wound for everyone at the 12th, … knowing that the man who had murdered a cop's spouse was never put behind bars and in the process, had destroyed a very good cop, a very good man.

She knew, without a doubt, that Horatio Collins was evil… He wouldn't hesitate a moment to take out another cop's partner, parent, spouse, or child. There was no way in hell she was going to put Castle, or his family, in that type of danger.

He was off the case.

….

Rick had gotten the full account of Horatio Collins from the boys. It sickened him to think that this madman had gotten away with murder, as well as several other charges of assault and battery; plus, a rape charge that was later dropped. The man was a sleeze-bag through and through, and now Beckett's team was forced to go mano-a-mano with him.

"Castle, can I speak to you alone a minute?"

"Sure, Beckett."

She led him into an empty interrogation room.

…

The scene wasn't pretty, … tempers flared, voices were heated.

"I'm sorry. My decision's final, Castle. Go home."

"Are you serious Beckett? … I just promised that grieving mother that I wouldn't rest until her daughter's murderer was caught… You cannot kick me off this case."

He practically groveled at her feet stating that she needed someone to have her back. She could always count on him to have her back. Didn't she know that by now? Hadn't he proven himself over the past 4 years?

Didn't she trust him enough to listen to her every word and follow through with her instructions? (Okay, he grudgingly admitted that his first year on the force, he did have difficulty following her commands, but that hadn't been true now for over 2 years.)

"How come after 4 years of devotion, you still don't see me as your partner?"

"God dammit, Castle. Don't throw that at me. You know that I value you as a partner…"

"Do I?" he ground out accusingly.

"**But," **she continued wearily,** "**we both know you're **not** a cop. You're an author."

She knew with emotions running this high, that one of them might say something they'd later regret; so she put her foot down.

She looked pleadingly into his midnight blue eyes. "I have the final say in this matter. If you want to shadow me after Collins' arrest, you won't question me any further."

Once he realized she wouldn't budge, he pleaded with her to fax over to him copies of evidence. At the very least, send him photos of the murder board, so he could research the information and help solve the case from home.

"You're not hearing me," she said, deeply frustrated. She began pacing the interrogation room.

"I've witnessed firsthand the utter devastation Collins leaves in his path… Alexis is the first person he'd go after, to **hurt us both, **Castle… I need you to sit this one out. I need my mind completely focused on Collins. I can't afford the luxury of worrying about you and her during this investigation." She stopped pacing and turned to him with turbulent eyes. "Go home. Go write Nikki Heat."

And Kate Beckett's heart bled a little that day, knowing that she had just wounded her partner, her best friend, and the man she was falling desperately in love with.

**…..**

It hurt. It stung... more than he cared to admit.

He took her words to mean she was rejecting him… Even though he knew her heart was in the right place, and she only wanted to protect him and his family, he felt betrayed… She didn't have enough faith in him, enough faith in their partnership.

Now, he would go home, pace the floors of his loft, and pray that Collins didn't get his hands on her or on any member of her team. He'd be worried sick instead of actively trying to protect her, instead of actively pursuing the bastard to put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

He left the precinct headed for the Old Haunt. He needed a strong drink. Better yet, he needed several.


	4. Chapter 4

Two days after being removed from Collins' case, Castle got the phone call that shattered his heart.

"Mr. Castle?" came the timid question from a woman's voice who sounded familiar.

"Yes. Yes it is." Castle looked groggily at his bedside clock. 9:33 am. He'd had difficulty sleeping again last night… He'd fallen into bed, utterly exhausted, around 3 am. He couldn't think about anything but Beckett and the danger she was possibly in... He couldn't concentrate on writing. His thoughts ran rampant… His writer's mind automatically jumped to the worst-case scenario.

He was tormented by bad dreams. Dreams which haunted his waking hours as well.

God, he wished she'd at least text him to let him know she was okay, but Castle hadn't heard from her since she kicked him out of the precinct, and his pride wouldn't allow him to contact her first.

As his brain cleared from being asleep, he remembered who the calm voice belonged to - - Elizabeth Grey.

"Mrs. Grey, how are you doing?" He asked sincerely.

"As well as can be expected. Thank you." She cleared her throat.

"I'm calling you because you're the only person we feel we can trust." She turned to her husband and whispered something that Rick couldn't quite make out.

"I'm afraid - I'm afraid I've got some very bad news for you."

Rick's gut clenched in fear from the tone in her voice.

"Matthew has a good friend inside Mr. Collins' network. She told him that we're in danger. She told him that we have to pack and leave the city immediately. We have to disappear." Elizabeth sniffed.

"We were going to call Detective Beckett this morning to let her know we accept the offer for Witness Protection, but Katrina said – - she told Matthew," she took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm so sorry Mr. Castle… Horatio Collins has her. He's kidnapped Detective Beckett."

Castle's head started to spin. _Oh my God, … Kate._

_How the hell did he get a hold of her? When did he take her? How long has she been missing? Where were Esposito and Ryan? Why hadn't they called him? Did Gates know?_

He was silent for several moments, trying to absorb the news. . . His thoughts were a jumbled mess. He got up from the bed and started pacing his room.

"Can I speak to your husband, please?"

"Yes, of course." She hesitated. "We didn't call anyone at the precinct to let them know what Katrina told us... My husband doesn't know who he can trust at this point since she was obviously taken due to working on Eden's case… He's afraid there might be corrupt cops at the 12th… I'm so sorry, Mr. Castle. I'm so sorry."

Castle gathered his wits about him and questioned Mr. Grey thoroughly.

He found out that the kidnapped girls were stashed deep underground in a high-security building on the outskirts of the city… There was only one entrance into the building. There was a secret elevator that required a key code to access the floors. Unfortunately, Mr. Grey did not know the access code. He always had a guard on him whenever he was summoned to the business.

Buyers were picked up by a limo driver at some predetermined location, blind-folded, and then driven to Collins' building where they were escorted into the elevator… A security agent was always present inside the elevator as Collins had it monitored 24/7… The agent would input the elevator code and escort the buyer 6 stories down to the main hallway of the business. Katrina would usually escort the buyers from there to the bidding room.

Mr. Grey told Castle that Kate was being held in a secure room where she was being questioned. (He didn't mention that she would most likely be tortured as it was Mr. Collins' preferred method of persuasion.)

"I hate to tell you this, Mr. Castle, but Katrina thinks it's highly likely Collins will put her up for auction tomorrow evening." Castle's heart stopped.

"Get me in as a buyer, Mr. Grey… I don't care how you do it… Just **make** it happen."

"I will try." Mr. Grey sighed. "If I still have access to Collins' computer records, I can add you as a first time buyer. There's an application you'll have to fill out. I can forward it to you. You'll also have to use a pseudonym."

"Alexander Rogers. Mark me down as Alexander Rogers."

They talked for an additional 30 minutes, working out the logistics. Castle would have to be at the Hotel Le Bleu at 7 pm sharp. The buyer's were recognized by carrying an aluminum briefcase. He had to bring a large amount of cash with him - $200,000.00 should suffice. Cell phones did not work once you were in the elevator. Tracking devices were automatically disabled in the phones as soon as you stepped inside.

Before they hung up, Mr. Grey left him with a warning. "One more thing, Mr. Castle. Be careful who you tell about Detective Beckett… Someone at the 12th most likely gave her name to Horatio. Make sure you only tell an officer you can explicitly trust."

"Yes, I understand."

"Good luck. I'm deeply sorry that Detective Beckett is now suffering because of my betrayal."

Castle hung up the phone knowing exactly who he needed to call for help.

**XXXXX**

As his mind started to clear from the sedative, Rick was having difficulty discerning between fantasy and reality.

He was lying on a comfortable mattress with his nose buried in soft, luxurious curls.

Cherries. The strong smell of cherries permeated his nostrils.

His right hand was stroking silky, soft skin, … rubbing over defined abdomen muscles. He dragged his fingers over the taut muscles to reach the side of her narrow waist.

Kate.

Kate - in a racy cream bustier with laces criss-crossing down the front, just begging him to untie them.

Kate - in sexy, black fishnet stockings behind held up by a lacy garter with playful pink bows.

Kate – in a barely there G-string that made him want to take his teeth and pull down the flimsy fabric.

Shit, he was in a painful state of arousal.

His hand had a mind of its own as it left her small waist and began searching for the inseam of the fishnet stockings.

She began wiggling next to him, mumbling incoherently.

"Mr. Rogers."

"Hmmm?" - _Mr. Rogers?_

"Mr. Rogers."

His eyes flew open in a flash as it suddenly came back to him: Kate. Kidnapped. Underground sex-ring. Horatio Collins.

It wasn't a dream. He was lying next to her and his hand was -

He immediately removed the offending hand that was dangerously close to fondling the pink bow… He brought it to her cheek and caressed it gently while staring into her emerald green orbs.

Her eyes were filled with concern, relief and something else that he couldn't quite define. She had a silk scarf tied around her mouth so she couldn't speak. Her cheeks looked hot… She looked flushed.

He watched as her pupils suddenly constricted in – lust? desire?

_Jeez, how did my hand find its way back again to that infuriating lace garter belt?_

He sat straight up on the edge of the bed, suddenly wide awake.

"It's nice to see you're finally awake," Collins said smoothly. "I do apologize for the earlier deception… I've found it's a necessary precaution with our first time customers."

"Well, let me assure you, Mr. Collins," he replied angrily, "Drugging me is not the best incentive for further business."

He chuckled softly.

Rick quickly scanned the room around him. It was a small bedroom with an expensive mahogany armoire along one wall and a matching double bed across from it. The walls were tastefully decorated with photos of local tourist attractions. There was a security camera located on the ceiling above the armoire. There was also an intercom on the wall and key-pad lock for the door.

The item that disturbed him though was the high-tech video camera resting on the tripod in the far corner, faced towards the bed… That's when he realized that the comforter on the bed was the type used in exotic porno flicks. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach.

"This is my associate, Nico." Mr. Collins' arm swayed toward the 300-pound lug who'd been holding Kate hostage earlier in the bidding room. He was standing in front of the door with his arms crossed, a handgun positioned at his hip. Castle sized up his beefy muscles and beady little eyes, and concluded accurately… _This degenerate enjoys inflicting pain._

His heart skyrocketed at the mere thought that he had touched Kate.

"Let me formally introduce you to your purchase." Castle stood up and glanced down at Kate. "Alex Rogers meet Katherine Beckett."

Castle swallowed. .. If he thought she looked sexy wearing revealing lingerie standing behind a glass enclosure 15 feet away from him, … up close, … up close, within touching distance, she was - - hotter than hell.

"Katherine Beckett, meet your new owner, Alexander Rogers."

Rick clenched his jaw.

Her wrists were bound above her head to the double bed with black silk scarves, … a similar scarf tied around her mouth.

With each deep breath she took, her breasts pushed upwards… He licked his lips as more of the creamy mounds were exposed.

The off-white bustier rode up as well and exposed a delectable belly button that looked like it was created just for him. He pictured himself pouring a fine wine into the orifice and lapping it up lasciviously.

His fingers curled in anticipation of touching her firm, six-pack abs again.

_Fuck, I've got to get control of my baser needs, _he thought in frustration.

Knowing in his current state of mind that he couldn't handle focusing on the skimpy G-string, his eyes scanned further down her model legs… _Big mistake._

His desire to explore those mile-high gams intensified ten-fold as the alluring fish-net stockings sent a shocking jolt of awareness straight to his manhood.

He turned away from her and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"Do you like what you see?" Collins asked with a suggestive grin.

"Of course… She's exceptional. You certainly didn't lie when you described her as," he paused to look into Kate's eyes, "extraordinary."

Rick flashed her his charming smile. He tried to convey to her through his words and expression that they were going to be alright. They were going to get out of this mess alive. - - Together.

"I'd like to talk with my purchase alone."

"That's against our rules for first time buyers."

"For $135,000 dollars, rules can be broken." Castle said authoritatively.

"Not this one." Collins stated nonchalantly. "If you're not happy with our rules, Mr. Rogers, you can always decline the sale. I'm positive Mr. Thornton would be happy to purchase Katherine here at a discount."

Kate's eyes widened and she softly shook her head sideways.

Rick's mouth twisted in contempt. _God, this guy's an ass h-._

Kate twisted a bit to the side to try and get more comfortable… She drew her knees towards her chest.

When Rick saw her bloody, mutilated feet, rage spewed into his bloodstream like lava spewing out of an active volcano. He clenched his hands into tight fists, digging his nails into the flesh. He wouldn't be surprised to find pin picks of blood on his palms. It took every ounce of will power he possessed not to pommel this S.O.B. to death.

He glared at Collins menacingly. "What the hell happened to her feet?" His voice seethed with anger. "I did not pay for damaged merchandise."

Collins cleared his throat, looking haughty. "I apologize. Sometimes, it's a necessary evil to hurt the girls." Collins looked slightly uncomfortable at Rick's loathsome stare. "Believe me, Mr. Rogers, with Katherine Beckett, it was a necessary evil… We couldn't allow her to try and escape."

If Nico hadn't been standing in front of the door with his hand at the ready to grab his loaded gun, Castle would've attacked Collins and pummeled his face to a bloody pulp… He wouldn't have stopped until his face matched her feet.

He inhaled deeply, trying to calm down.

"Well, I for one do not tolerate this kind of abuse to my women… Get cleaning solution, ointment, bandages for her feet immediately." His tone brooked no argument." I also presume you've got antibiotics for this type of – situation – as well." He sneered the word, 'situation'.

"Yes, we do. I'll have her tended to right away." Collins walked over to the speaker on the wall and pressed the button, "Katrina, bring in medical supplies into room 3."

"Yes, Mr. Collins, right away." She replied.

Rick motioned to Kate. "I also want her gag removed."

"As I mentioned earlier, Katherine Beckett is not like our normal girls. She is extremely dangerous… I don't suggest it as she may," he laughed coyly, "bite."

Collins warning surprisingly brought a smirk to Rick's lips. Under any other circumstance, he would have been thrilled to hear that Kate Beckett was possibly a 'biter'.

"I am her owner now, correct?"

"Yes," he deadpanned. "Even though I don't recommend it, you can certainly remove the gag."

Rick sat back on the edge of the bed. Kate lifted her head up slightly so he could reach the silk knot. A tingle shot through his hands as he brushed her scalp. His deep blue eyes filled with concern as he noticed her tired eyes.

"Katherine, it's nice to meet you." He said so that both Collins and Nico could easily hear.

"Water," she whispered brokenly. "Water please."

"There's some in the armoire."

Rick left her side to open the armoire. His pulse jumped when he noticed a variety of sex and bondage toys: vibrators, cuffs, harnesses, whips, chains as well as an assortment of condoms. He reached for the upper shelf to pull down a water bottle.

"Here," he said gently, "let me help you." He cradled her neck while he put the water to her dry lips. She eagerly sipped it.

"Thank you," she said, looking longingly into his baby blues.

She shuddered when his thumb skimmed over her lower lip. "You're welcome."

'I'm okay,' she mouthed to him.

There were 3 raps on the door. Nico let Katrina in who was carrying a medical tray.

"Excuse me," she said kindly. "I need to take a look at Ms Beckett." She lifted Kate's feet gingerly and inspected the wounds.

"You really did a number on her, Nico." She said flippantly. "Boss, you should really learn how to control your goons."

She picked up the cleaning solution and looked at Kate. "I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt."

Castle looked away as he couldn't bear to see her in pain. Kate grimaced and made little whimpering sounds but never cried out while her feet were cleaned and bandaged.

_God dammit, what else had they done to her? So it was Nico who cut up her feet?… _Castle stared him down._ I'm going to enjoy watching that man suffer, and __**very **__soon, _he vowed to himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Katrina squirting liquid out of a syringe. He grabbed her arm forcefully before she could inject the serum.

"No drugs."

"Let go of Katrina's arm… Now." Nico stepped forward threateningly.

"It's alright, Nico." She turned to Castle. "It's only antibiotics." At the hesitation in Rick's eyes she said quietly. "I promise… It's not a sedative or harmful drug. She needs this medicine." Rick could tell by the sincerity of her voice and the soft look in her eyes that she was telling the truth. He shook his head in approval.

Katrina took a cotton swab and squirted alcohol on it. "Roll onto your side, Ms. Beckett. It has to go into your hip."

Kate did as she was told.

There were those tempting angel wings again. This time when the blood rushed south, at least Rick was expecting it. He was suddenly very uncomfortable though, as he caught Kate eyeing the front of his slacks.

Katrina exited the room quietly, looking briefly over her shoulder just before the door slammed shut.

"Mr. Collins, When can I take her home?"

Collins gazed at him with smug superiority. "We do have other rules as well for first time buyers."

_Why do I get the distinct impression that I'm not going to like these rules?_

"I need to see you in action, Mr. Rogers… I need to see you handle the merchandise."

As Collins' words hit home, his chest tightened and Rick found it difficult to breathe.

_This bastard truly is as sick as they come._

"I'm sure you can understand my position as you're also a businessman… I can't blindly trust that you'll keep my profitable business a secret... I need assurance, leverage if you will, that you are the man you claim to be."

Castle glanced at Kate worriedly.

"We record our first time customers with their purchase." His slimy smile curled Rick's toes. "It's a very effective, blackmail tool… It protects my business should you suddenly grow a conscience."

"No." He said forcefully. "That's not my style… I treat my women well… Lavish them with gifts... Secure their trust over time… I do not fuck them just because I can – " Collins' sinister laugh interrupted him.

"You don't understand, Mr. Rogers. You don't have a choice."


	5. Chapter 5

**Kate's POV: evening of auction **

She was surprised by how calm she felt as the bidding began… Especially standing there dressed in only risqué lingerie, - - on full display for disgusting, horny men. The spotlight blinded her so she couldn't see out the front glass. The cop in her hated that she couldn't look at the men for identification purposes later, but the woman in her was grateful for the reprieve.

She knew she could count on her boys. Ryan and Esposito would have figured out by now that Collins had her and they'd bring Matthew Grey back in for questioning. They'd interrogate him concerning Collins' business and its whereabouts. They would find her. She had complete faith in her team.

_Castle's a part of my team._

_Castle._

God, she'd never forget the look on his face as it finally dawned on him that he was off the case. The hurt in his sky-blue eyes, the downturned lips, the scrunched eyebrows, his slouched shoulders, … like a puppy dog that had just been kicked. And she'd done that to him, ... kicked him off the case.

And somehow still, he consumed her thoughts. She found herself expecting him to walk off the elevator with her favorite vanilla late in hand. She found herself turning to his chair to ask him a question. Even at one point, called out his name to ask what he thought about a certain clue… Thank goodness only Ryan was in the bullpen at the time and waved it off saying, "Yeah, boss, I miss Dad too."

She missed his boyish smile, his mesmerizing blue eyes, his childish antics, his over-the-top theories. She missed the man who drove her crazy and made her smile as well as laugh.

Rick Castle was a beacon of light in her life where most days were filled with darkness. And it was slowly killing her inside knowing that she had caused him such heartache. She knew he'd be worried sick about her, blaming himself for her kidnapping, … believing that if he'd been there with her that he could've saved her.

Kate didn't second-guess her decision to send him packing, but she did have one regret… That the last time they were together, she'd made him feel unworthy, … inadequate, … less than her partner, and the exact opposite was true.

_God, he means so much more to me._ And now there's a chance that he'll never find out.

She was drawn back from her thoughts by Collins' cocky voice, "Just a moment buyers, we have a request. Mr. Thornton would like a more intimate look at the merchandise."

_No, oh hell __**NO**__,_ she thought anxiously as Nico stealthily approached her.

"**Don't** touch me," she grated out. She didn't want his slimy hands anywhere on her body.

"I won't, … if you don't make me," he said grinning wickedly. "Face me. Feet 12 inches apart. Bend over and keep your legs straight."

Kate had a high tolerance for associating with scum but she was at her breaking point with Nico. She had dealt with his type throughout her career, … the tough, bad-ass thugs that were pawns in a dangerous game of chess. He was just another expendable muscle-man who had dabbled in minor crimes before graduating to the 'big leagues'.

And Horatio Collins was definitely the 'big leagues'.

Shit! It was clear that Nico was very willing to help her get into the requested position, so she turned her back to the buyers, stood in the stance she always asked perps to get into before she frisked them, and slowly bent over.

_I don't think I've ever been more humiliated in my life. _

She pictured herself in Rick's loft, sitting on a barstool, watching him pull items out of the refrigerator and cupboards to make his famous pancakes. She smiled, remembering Esposito's comment 2 years ago, after he found out that Castle had spent the night at her place to protect her from the serial killer, Scott Dunn. "Pancakes aren't just an edible breakfast. They say, 'Thank you for last night.'

And she did plan on one day **soon** waking up and making pancakes for Richard Castle to say, 'Thank you for last night.'

Collins came back on the speaker_, _"We'll continue the bidding now. She's up to $90,000." Nico gave her permission to stand back up.

Kate sized him up before turning her back on him. _God dammit, I actually think I could take him if my feet weren't so messed up._

The pain had intensified greatly since having to stand on them for the last 20 minutes. She was actually feeling nauseous due to the pain and knew that she couldn't last much longer.

_I'm strong. I can do this. They will find me._

A couple of minutes later she heard one last final ding and then, "It looks like we have a winner… Mr. Alex R - -," the speaker fuzzed out so Kate didn't hear the complete name of the buyer.

"Well, well. The boss is sure to be pleased. Your gorgeous ass brought in quite a bit of money," Nico smiled. "Come with me."

"No. I demand to speak with Horatio." She said his name like it was profanity. "Let him know that I'm finally ready to talk."

She had to stall. She had to think of something to delay the inevitable. She had to give her team more time to find her. She couldn't let some rich, sex-addicted freak get her alone, … let alone take her off the premises to God knows where… She might end up half-way across the world where no one would find her.

"You're too late for that option, Detective Beckett… Now come quietly. Don't give me any problems. The boss wants you presentable for your new buyer." His beefy hand grasped her upper arm.

Kate jerked her arm away from him and said menacingly, "Touch me again and I'll break your fingers."

Nico chuckled. "You are a handful aren't you? … I'm going to enjoy watching you in action." His dull eyes dropped to her cleavage.

Kate knew she didn't have the strength right now to challenge him further so she reluctantly followed him. Her stomach grumbled as she hadn't been given anything to eat since her captivity, … only sips of water. Collins thought that starving his girls made them more 'willing' to cooperate. _I despise the man._

Nico led her into a small room with high-end furniture. He directed her to sit down on the bed. She noticed a security camera on the ceiling. There was an armoire across from the bed plus a camera positioned on a tripod in the corner. Her heart sank at the realization of what happened in this room.

She was suddenly feeling a little faint from the throbbing in her feet. It frightened her a little when she felt like she needed to lie down. Her body was telling her that she needed rest. She was losing her willpower strikingly fast.

She layed down on her side as her hands were still handcuffed behind her back. Her face was pale from the exertion of standing up and walking on her mutilated feet.

A lovely, 20ish, blond woman came into the room and addressed her. "I'm Katrina. I'm here to make you more comfortable." She walked to the armoire and opened it to pull out 3 silk scarves. Kate's face curled in disgust when she noticed the sex toys and bondage paraphernalia.

"I know those handcuffs have got to be uncomfortable. I'm going to remove them. Please don't try anything, Detective Beckett, as Nico's looking for an excuse to get his hands on you."

Kate looked at Nico standing guard in front of the door. His leer certainly confirmed Katrina's words.

Kate nodded and held still. Katrina was careful to not rub the sores on her wrists when she removed the cuffs. "Lie on your back please." Kate noticed she had kind eyes.

_How can anyone with a gentle soul work for a monster like Collins? _She wondered.

She repositioned the pillows behind Kate's head and back, then raised her left arm towards the mahogany headboard. She wrapped the silk scarf around her wrist and firmly tied it to the one of the slats in the headboard. She repeated the action with Kate's other wrist.

"I apologize. Mr Collins requires you to be gagged as well." She took the last scarf and put it into Kate's mouth, then wrapped it around her hair to tie it behind her head.

"Your buyer is a rare, good man," she whispered. "You're definitely one of the lucky ones."

_Is she serious? What does she mean by that?_

Kate was grateful when Nico left the room with Katrina. She couldn't bear it if she was left in the room alone with him.

Within minutes, the door opened and 2 men she didn't recognize entered the room carrying a tall man's body.

_What the hell?_

She recognized the Vercase suit and the fancy Artioli leather shoes… The unconscious man's hair was the color of sand after a rainstorm. His profile showed a hawk-like nose, prominent cheekbones and a manly chin.

_Castle? Ohhh dear God._

She thought her heart might burst. She couldn't describe the pure elation and utter joy she felt at seeing him again, … and on top of that, she was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief.

_He's here. He came for me._

Then her eyes closed in panic. Adrenaline rolled through her veins. Fear seeped into her bones now that she knew he was within Collins' clutches.

_He's not moving. Please Lord, let him still be alive… Let him be okay._

As the men positioned him next to her on the bed, she looked at his chest closely to make sure he was breathing. _Yes,_ she sighed, _he's alive._ Tears pricked her eyes.

Over the next hour, she couldn't take her eyes off him. She thought how ironic it was that she could finally stare at him openly, without fear of being noticed.

There were many times over the past 3 and a half years that she'd caught Rick looking at her, staring actually, ... like he was counting every freckle on her face, ... or memorizing the shape of her beauty mark, ... or measuring the length of the laugh lines on her cheeks. He stared intently at the curve of her face, the slight crook in her nose, and at her thin, soft lips. His eyes seemed to glow when she smiled at him.

He stared at her like she was the most beautiful woman on earth. And every single time it took her breath away and turned her insides to mush.

The man made her feel like **she was his** and it scared her to pieces.

She didn't know how to handle that kind of love, … that all-consuming love that bordered on obsession, … that made her believe in fate and destiny, … that made her believe she'd truly found her one-and-done.

Castle. The man who consumed her thoughts during the day and the man who she dreamed about at night.

His collar was slightly open and his tie askew… Baby-fine, tan hairs peeked out from beneath his shirt. Her hands itched to feel the hair on his chest, and then descend to his firm pecs, and explore thoroughly the breadth of his chest. She wanted to memorize every inch of his impressive biceps and wide shoulders.

His neck was muscular, lean and she was fascinated by the dark dots of stubble that covered his neck and jaw. His face was serene, calm… She barely noticed the crinkles around his eyes and the smile lines around his mouth. He looked younger than his 41 years. His hair flopped onto his forehead in an endearing way. She wished her hands were free so that she could brush it back into place, finally feel those thick locks with her fingers.

To say that Rick Castle was ruggedly handsome was an understatement. The man was debonair, dashing. He simply exuded sex-appeal.

Her eyes couldn't help being drawn to his lips. Those full, luscious lips that she had avoided looking at over the past year… Lips that she now knew the taste of; - - lips she craved.

She'd never told anyone how Castle's undercover kiss the year before had affected her… How she couldn't stop the soft moan from escaping her mouth… How she couldn't get it out of her head. It was always in the back of her mind.

He was an expert with his mouth, … knowing just the right amount of exquisite pressure to apply to make her body quiver.

And she couldn't stop thinking about his hands during that sensual kiss. Large, soft hands that had delved in her hair and angled her head to his satisfaction, - - large, writer hands with agile fingers.

_I wonder how they'd feel on other places of my body?_

Kate swallowed to try and moisten her suddenly dry mouth.

Her eyes fell to his perfectly tailored slacks. Her cheeks flushed with the way his pants rested low on his hips. And his - , _Oh God_, his member was noticeable even his unconscious state. His thighs were large and muscular and filled out his pants magnificently.

She breathed in deeply to try and calm her jittery nerves… She was then assaulted by his smell, ... a hint of axe cologne combined with leather books... His smell was so uniquely him. So Castle.

_Jesus, he is all man. And he's all mine._

In that moment, Kate Beckett finally admitted to herself that Rick Castle owned her heart, ... and he had for a very long time.


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter is dedicated to BlueOrchid96 & crazy4castle :) Thanks to the 2 Karen's...**

**XXXXX**

Castle stirred. He rolled over onto his side facing her… His nose ended up in her hair and his right hand slung low on her belly. His hot breath fanned her hair and neck, causing goose bumps to erupt across her flesh.

She knew he was still fighting the effects of the drug when his fingers started stroking her abdomen. His fingers caused slivers of heat to shoot straight through her core.

Christ! In her current state of heightened awareness it didn't take but one sure stroke of her abdomen and moisture pooled between her legs.

_So much for the G-string, _she thought humorously.

Someone had obviously been watching them on the security camera because as soon as Castle moved, Collins and Nico reentered the room.

His hand suddenly left her abdomen and found its way to her upper thigh, running smoothly along the top of the fishnet stockings.

"Mr. Rogers." Collins addressed Rick.

Kate internally smiled. _Of course, he's going by Alex Rogers._

She wiggled next to him and tried calling his name to wake him up, but the gag muffled her attempts. She had to stop his exploring _**now**_, or otherwise he was going to feel just how wet she'd become.

"Mr. Rogers."

His eyes suddenly flew open. Kate could tell he was a little dazed, still slightly confused. There was also something undefinable sparking within the blue depths of his eyes.

He removed his hand from her thigh and brought it to her cheek, caressing gently. She knew immediately when it registered where he was and why they were here... His face softened and his eyes lingered on the gag in her mouth. She knew he was trying to tell her that everything was going to be alright. They would make it out of this alive, together.

His eyes truly were the windows to his soul.

His hand somehow found its way back to her nylons… His fingers plucked at the pink bow.

_Fuck, what is he doing?_ She couldn't prevent the bright blush from staining her cheeks and she looked away embarrassed.

Castle suddenly sat straight up, facing Collins.

"It's nice to see you're finally awake," Collins said smoothly. "I do apologize for the earlier deception… I've found it's a necessary precaution with our first time customers."

"Well let me assure you, Mr. Collins," Rick replied angrily, "Drugging me is not the best incentive for further business transactions."

Kate could tell by his tone-of-voice that Rick had just reached the end of his rope where Horatio Collins was concerned. _Well, partner, that makes two of us._

"This is my associate, Nico." Mr. Collins' said. She could see Rick sizing up the 300-pound man. He'd clearly noticed the Smith & Wesson on his hip.

"Let me formally introduce you to your purchase." Collins continued. Castle stood up and glanced down at her. "Alex Rogers meet Katherine Beckett… Katherine Beckett, meet your new owner, Alexander Rogers."

Rick's eye's darkened. She watched in fascination as his eyes trailed from the scarves around her wrist, down her face and neck to halt on her heaving bosom. - - His jaw clenched. He licked his dry lips. - - And then the blue orbs traveled downward, over the laces holding the bustier together, down to her exposed abdomen where he lingered on her innie belly button. She watched him fight for control… His fingers curled into a fist.

Kate knew he was struggling with his need to reach out and touch her. His eyes flamed with raw lust and pure desire.

She was finding it difficult to breathe with him looking at her as if she was the most desirable woman on the planet, … looking at her as if he could ravish her from head to toe and still never be satisfied.

His eyes glazed over as he took in her thin legs sheathed in the sexy stockings.

_Rick, _she panted.

He turned away from her and ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"Do you like what you see?" Collins asked with a suggestive grin.

"Of course… She's exceptional. You certainly didn't lie when you described her as," he paused and looked directly into her eyes, "extraordinary."

_Extraordinary. _Her heart skipped a beat when he flashed her a brilliant smile. She knew exactly what he was trying to convey.

"I'd like to talk with my purchase alone."

"That's against our rules for first time buyers."

"For $135,000 dollars, rules can be broken." Castle said authoritatively.

_$135,000 dollars? _Kate practically choked on her gag.

"Not this one." Collins stated nonchalantly. "If you're not happy with our rules, Mr. Rogers, you can always decline the sale. I'm positive Mr. Thornton would be happy to purchase Katherine here at a discount."

Oh shit! There was no way she wanted anyone near her but Rick. She turned frightened eyes to him and shook her head slightly side-to-side.

Her shoulders and upper back ached from having her arms tied above her head, so she turned on her side and lifted her knees up to her chest to try and get more comfortable.

Rick's menacing voice boomed throughout the small room. "What the hell happened to her feet? … I did not pay for damaged merchandise."

Collins cleared his throat, looking haughty. "I apologize. Sometimes, it's a necessary evil to hurt the girls."

Kate held back her smile at Rick's loathsome glare towards Collins. Fury was rolling off him in waves.

_If looks could kill, Collins would be lying in a heap at Rick's feet right now with a knife in his heart. Note to self: Never make Richard Castle seething angry. He's certainly a force to be reckoned with. _

"Believe me, Mr. Rogers, with Katherine Beckett, it was a necessary evil… We couldn't allow her to try and escape."

"Well, I for one do not tolerate this kind of abuse to my women… Get cleaning solution, ointment, bandages for her feet immediately… I also presume you've got antibiotics for this type of – situation – as well." He sneered the word, 'situation'.

"Yes, we do. I'll have her tended to right away." Collins walked over to the speaker on the wall and pressed the button, "Katrina, bring in medical supplies into room 3."

"Yes, Mr. Collins, right away," came the soft reply.

Rick motioned to Kate. "I also want her gag removed."

"As I mentioned earlier, Katherine Beckett is not like our normal girls. She is extremely dangerous… I don't suggest it as she may," he laughed coyly. "bite."

_Yes_, she thought dangerously, _you get close enough to me, Collins, and I'll show you how I can bite._

"I am her owner now, correct?" He said it as a statement, rather than a question.

"Yes," Collins dead panned. "Go ahead then if you'd like to remove the gag."

Castle sat back on the edge of the bed. She lifted her head up slightly so he could reach the silk knot. A tingle shot through her scalp as his fingers brushed through her hair. She searched his blue eyes, and it worried her that they were filled with concern.

"Katherine, it's nice to meet you." He said so that both Collins and Nico could easily hear.

"Water," she whispered brokenly. "Water please."

"There's some in the armoire," Collins said.

Rick left her side to open the armoire and pull out a water bottle. She noticed his hesitation when he saw what was inside.

"Here," he said gently, "let me help you." He cradled her neck while he put the water to her dry lips. She eagerly sipped it.

"Thank you," she replied sincerely. He leaned towards her to wipe a water droplet from her mouth. She noticeably shuddered when his thumb skimmed over her lower lip.

"You're welcome."

'I'm okay,' she mouthed to him.

There were 3 raps on the door. Nico let Katrina in who was carrying a medical tray.

"Excuse me," she said kindly. "I need to take a look at Ms Beckett." She lifted Kate's feet gingerly and inspected the wounds.

"You really did a number on her, Nico." She said flippantly. "Boss, you should really learn how to control your goons."

She picked up the cleaning solution and looked at Kate. "I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt."

Castle looked away.

_Dammit!_ Her foot twitched from the medicine Katrina was applying. She gritted her teeth to try and control the pain, but she couldn't help the occasional whimper that escaped. She finally felt some relief after Katrina wrapped gauze around her entire foot.

She snuck a peek at Rick. He was partially turned away from her, giving the evil-eye to Nico. She could tell by his expression, that he was thinking up gruesome ways to hurt him, similar to how he'd tortured her.

She'd never been happier to have Rick by her side.

As Katrina squirted liquid out of a syringe, Rick grabbed her arm before she could inject the serum.

"No drugs." He stated flatly.

"Let go of Katrina's arm… Now." Nico stepped forward threateningly.

"It's alright, Nico." Katrina said as she turned to Castle. "It's only antibiotics. I promise… It's not a sedative or harmful drug. She needs this medicine." Kate believed the sincerity in her tone. Castle must have also believed her as he dropped her arm and shook his head in approval.

Katrina took a cotton swab and squirted alcohol on it. "Roll onto your side, Ms. Beckett. It has to go in your hip."

Kate did as she was told.

She barely even felt the needle go into her hip. _Katrina's very good at her job._

When she rolled over to her back again, she suddenly realized that Rick must have gotten an eyeful of her tattoo… She glanced down to the front of his slacks… _Ummm—yes, that's an absolute certainty._

Kate was surprised that even in this horrific situation, her body was responding to Rick's obvious arousal for her. A soft smile graced her lips. _Yeah, that will happen after 3 and a half years of unresolved sexual tension. It's a good thing that he doesn't know how he's affecting me._

Katrina exited the room quietly, looking briefly over her shoulder just before the door slammed shut.

"Mr. Collins, When can I take her home?"

Collins gazed at him with smug superiority. "We do have other rules as well for first time buyers."

Dread filled her heart. She knew this couldn't be good.

"I need to see you in action, Mr. Rogers… I need to see you handle the merchandise."

_What the hell? Does he truly mean what I think he does?_

"I'm sure you can understand my position as you're also a businessman… I can't blindly trust that you'll keep my profitable business a secret... I need assurance, leverage if you will, that you are the man you claim to be."

Castle glanced at Kate worriedly.

"We record our first time customers with their purchase."

Kate felt bile rise up in the back of her throat. "It's a very effective, blackmail tool… It protects my business should you suddenly grow a conscience."

"No." Rick said forcefully. "That's not my style… I treat my women well… Lavish them with gifts... Secure their trust over time… I do not fuck them just because I can – " Collins' sinister laugh interrupted him.

"You don't understand, Mr. Rogers. You don't have a choice."

Kate never imagined she could despise someone more than Dick Coonan, or that she could hate anyone more than she hated the man who put the hit out on her mother, … but Horatio Collins just took his place.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: These next 2 chapters will be the last I write according to Rick's POV and then Kate's. ;) Thank u for all the Guest comments. Every single review is very appreciated.**

**XXXXX**

At Collins' "You don't understand, Mr. Rogers. You don't have a choice." Rick broke out in a sweat.

_God, I've got to find a way out of this… There is no way I can do what this bastard wants. There's no way I'd ever hurt her. _

He glanced at his watch which read 9:38 pm.

_Where the hell is Agent Martin Danberg?_ (So much for the CIA and their supposedly infallible tracking device) His arm still itched where they'd injected a miniscule capsule under his forearm. He'd been worried about its success, due to the business location being deep underground, and now it looked like his fears were justified… Being half a mile beneath the earth's surface was a fucking, fantastic deterrent to tracking devices.

"I do have a choice, Mr. Collins. My $135,000 dollars does give me a choice."

Mr. Collins eyes narrowed as he studied him. "If you don't perform, you lose the sale, and she goes to the next bidder in line… Nico," he turned to the ape, "go fetch Mr. Thornton to come and look at the merchandise. I'm sure he'd jump at the opportunity to **tame** Ms Beckett."

The way he said the word, 'tame' made Castle want to hurl.

"That's not necessary." Rick looked at Kate imploringly, "I want her."

His insides curled in disgust as he realized the words were the absolute truth... He would be attracted to Kate physically no matter how horrific the situation they found themselves in… It didn't matter where, or how, or when, … if forced to take her, he knew his body would respond willingly and eagerly.

_I hope God damns Horatio Collins to hell._

"Collins," Kate grated through clenched teeth. "Think about this… You're a very smart man. You know who I am…" She exhaled jerkily with the weight of the emotion behind her words. "Right now, you're facing assault and battery, plus kidnapping charges… If you add rape of a Detective on top of that you're looking at life in Sing Sing."

Collins snapped his fingers in the air and Nico immediately grabbed the scarf again and shoved it into her mouth. He was rough as he yanked on a section of her curls while sloppily tying the knot.

His desire to clock Nico out-cold escalated greatly.

Even though it killed Rick a little to hear her say, 'rape of a **Detective**,' her words triggered an amazing plan… He decided to start playing the part of Alexander Rogers, - - a millionaire bad-boy, a womanizer who had a secret, dark side.

"Well, well, Mr. Collins," he laughed throatily. "I wouldn't have pegged you as a man with balls of stone… She's a detective?" He glanced at Kate with raised eyebrows. "I would've guessed with her beauty that she was a model or actress or possibly a high-end escort." He smiled to himself as he knew Kate was going to punish him for that last guess.

"You've really put me in a tough spot now… She'll have more Heat on her than any man could possibly handle." He looked suggestively at her, loving the way her cheeks flushed at the double entendre of 'Heat'. "The FBI won't stop looking for her until she's found… I think your description of her as 'dangerous' was a gross understatement." He decided he may as well play the cocky, millionaire womanizer to the hilt and planted his index finger on her ankle, … then slowly dragged it up her outer thigh, his finger sensually tugging along the fishnet.

_God, she's freakin' gorgeous… Even with smeared mascara, no lipstick, disheveled hair and frightened eyes, she's still the most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on._

Her eyes widened with each and every inch that his finger got closer and closer to her - -.

_Come on Kate. Play along. _

She suddenly jerked her leg away from him in distaste. She glared at Rick as if to say, 'Don't touch me again.'

_That's my detective. _

He winked at her in jest. He knew she would've given him her classic eye-roll in that instant if she dared.

Rick threw his suave smile towards Mr. Collins. Horatio actually looked a bit uncomfortable.

"As I said during the auction, she's a rare woman indeed. I didn't lie when I said that she came with a certain 'risk'."

"You also didn't tell the whole truth about her either." Rick said with a sense of superiority. "I wonder how the other buyers would feel if they knew of your deception."

Mr. Collins' face noticeably blanched. "There's no need to involve anyone else, Mr. Rogers. As I said earlier, if you're not pleased with your purchase, Mr. Thornton is next in line."

"I would be willing to bet," Rick said confidently, "that Mr. Thornton will decide in the end, that Detective Angel Wings here, just isn't worth the trouble."

Kate threw him an exasperated look and in Rick's mind, he heard her perfectly say, 'Seriously, Detective Angel Wings?'

"She'd be just too much to handle for anyone at **his** age." He smiled alluringly at Kate before continuing, "I'm a little afraid myself." His eyes twinkled when his pinky finger lifted up the top of her G-string. "That I won't be able to handle her." He released his pinky and the elastic top snapped back soundly to her lower abdomen. She twisted her body to the side as if to get away from his touch.

Jesus, it took great restraint to not peek at what lay beneath that tiny piece of fabric.

"I, on the other hand, find the prospect of bedding a Detective, **ve - ry** erotic… " His irises turned a shade of midnight as the back of his fingers swiped down the smooth column of her throat, down to between her breasts. "She would be my** very**," _Oh God, she's going to kill me for this…_ His thumb tweaked at the top ribbon of her bustier, "**first**" his fingers began loosening the criss-cross bow, "**cop**." His fingers lingered as he gazed into her stormy eyes.

She mumbled something in anger behind the gag while trying to shake his fingers off her chest.

"But, Mr. Collins," Rick reluctantly pulled himself away from Kate's smoky stare to face Horatio. "It has to be on my terms." He said with utter conviction. "I'm taking her on **my** terms."

Collins absorbed Rick's tone-of-voice, his determined stance and unwavering facial expression. He crossed his arms before speaking, "Mr. Rogers, you are under the mistaken impression that you are allowed to make demands. Our rules here have not changed over the past 10 years, nor will they change in the next 10 years."

With a hint of regret in his voice, Collins then said, "It's obvious that we don't agree when it comes to my merchandise. I will not be doing business with you in the future… Nico, escort Mr. Rogers off the premises, minus his $10,000 fee to attend tonight's bidding."

_Shit, it didn't work._

"Wait," Rick paused. God, he couldn't do this, couldn't take her by force, … but what choice did he have? There was no way in hell he'd ever let a nasty, lecherous man get his hands on her.

He looked imploringly at Kate to forgive him.

She was fidgeting in the bed… She was anxious, nervous… Her green eyes locked onto his, … full of doubt, a hint of fear within their depths.

Then suddenly, as Kate interpreted Castle's gaze, her face softened and her eyes roamed over his body… The doubt, the fear, turned into something he never imagined he'd see in her lovely eyes… Something his writer's mind could only describe as - - 'naughty'.

_Oh dear God, she looks… she looks_ -

Rick couldn't even complete the thought as his raging hormones took over, … the blood from his brain rushed south, and wiped any common sense right out of his head. He licked his lips as she smiled through the gag. And when she nodded her head once towards him, he knew she was giving her permission.

He cleared his throat before trying to speak again to Collins. "I'll only agree to this on one condition."

Collins raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Be careful, Mr. Rogers. You're not in charge of this transaction."

"I will not have a man behind that video camera... I'm positive Katherine would be more comfortable, possibly more willing, if a female were present. I'll only agree to the rules if Katrina's in here with us. Not Nico."

"It's an unusual request," Collins surveyed him objectively, "But my final goal is of course to make my clients happy. I'll agree, … but Nico stands guard outside the door."

Collins held out his hand to shake Castle's. Rick squeezed harder than necessary, curbing his desire to crush every single bone in his hand.

Collins addressed Nico, "Call Katrina in here and then guard the door."

"But Boss," he whined, leering at Kate one last time. "I was hoping to see her in action."

"Nico!" Collins said harshly.

Nico walked grudgingly over to the intercom on the wall and called Katrina back into the room.

"I apologize for his rude behavior. It's difficult to find hired help with manners. He sometimes forgets that this is a 'Gentleman's club' after all."

Castle was sick and tired of this slime-ball's manners.

"Let me warn you again that it's risky to remove her gag." Collins stared at Kate's red, swollen lips. "I'd understand if you feel it's necessary though… I, for one, certainly wouldn't be able to refrain myself from tasting that luscious mouth of hers."

_If this S.O.B. says one more suggestive thing about Kate, regardless of Nico in the room, I'm pounding him._

"You may use anything in the armoire you'd like. I'd personally keep the whip handy in case she gets - difficult."

Katrina knocked first before entering. "Mr. Collins, you called me?"

"Yes. Mr. Rogers has a special request… He'd like you to operate the video camera, and I've agreed."

She looked surprised but quickly composed herself. "Yes, sir. It's not a problem."

"Good. If you have any issues, just signal Nico."

She nodded and then headed to the camera to flick on the power button.

"There is one other rule." Collins continued. "Do not touch the wrist scarves. They must stay on the entire time." He looked longingly over at Kate as if mentally taking a picture of her in the racy lingerie. "We removed her handcuffs earlier so she'd be more comfortable for you, … so that you'd have easier access to her **lovely **body." Rick's blood started to boil… He was fast losing his patience with Horatio Collins.

Collins turned towards the lock pad. His fingers flew over the numbers to unlock the door.

"Oh, and one more thing, for you both…" He looked between Rick and Kate with a devilish smile. "If there are any problems at all… If I feel, Alex, you're trying to renege on our agreement, or if I feel that Ms Beckett is not – cooperating, … I let Nico back in this room where I'm positive he'll enjoy memorizing every square inch of her ivory skin."

_Disgusting man. I'm looking forward to hurting him._

The door clicked soundly shut and Rick thought his heart might beat right out of his chest as he turned to Kate.


	8. Chapter 8

**Kate's POV:**

Kate noticed beads of sweat break out on Rick's brow after hearing Mr. Collins say that he didn't have a choice… She could tell that he was struggling with this no-win situation.

He glanced nervously at his watch. She could read Rick, and knew by the small gesture that he was expecting someone. It gave her hope.

_Of course Castle would have a back-up plan. He wouldn't have walked into this dangerous situation without knowing help was close-by._

She knew he was trying to control his temper when he replied in a strained voice, "I do have a choice, Mr. Collins. My $135,000 dollars does give me a choice."

Mr. Collins eyes narrowed, "If you don't perform, you lose the sale, and she goes to the next bidder in line… Nico," he turned to the ape, "go fetch Mr. Thornton to come and look at the merchandise. I'm sure he'd jump at the opportunity to **tame** Ms Beckett."

Her heart plummeted. She would fight to the death before she let another man touch her… but Rick, Rick… Shit, she knew what it would cost him.

Her eyes were magnetically drawn to his when she heard, "That's not necessary… I **want** her."

His deep voice resonated with pure truth, and it caused a spike of yearning to shoot through her core.

Rick Castle wanted her… God, she'd known that for years … But hearing him say the words **outright** … and with such raw, pent-up emotion, … where he clearly implied that the word 'want' meant more than just a roll in the hay, … it turned her into a pool of liquid desire.

She knew with complete certainty that he wanted her for more than just her body.

She didn't need to remember his words to her in the cemetery because his actions over the past year and a half had proven to her just how devoted he was to her… Just how much he truly loved her… And it tore at her soul knowing that all she'd ever given him in return was a few breadcrumbs tossed in his direction.

She teased him occasionally, … flirted with him now and then, but always kept him at arm's length, … always expected him to be by her side day in and day out, without a promise of his feelings ever being acknowledged or even reciprocated_._

_Well tonight, that all changes, _she promised herself._ He's going to find out just how much he means to me, and Horatio Collins isn't going to be a part of it._

"Collins," she grated through clenched teeth. "Think about this… You're a very smart man. You know who I am…" She exhaled jerkily with the weight of the emotion behind her words. "Right now, you're facing assault and battery, plus kidnapping charges… If you add rape of a Detective on top of that you're looking at life in Sing Sing."

Collins snapped his fingers in the air and before she could say anything more, Nico had shoved the scarf into her mouth. In his haste to tie the knot, he jerked her neck back and pulled on a section of her hair. She winced. _The brute._

God dammit, now she had no other way besides her body-language to convey to Castle what she was thinking or feeling.

She was surprised, yet intrigued, when Castle's body posture and tone-of-voice suddenly changed… Instead of acting like a hesitant, unsure, first-time buyer, he suddenly brought on the cocky, Castle, bad-boy charm.

"Well, well, Mr. Collins," he laughed throatily. "I wouldn't have pegged you as a man with balls of stone… She's a detective?" He glanced at Kate with raised eyebrows. "I would've guessed with her beauty that she was a model or actress or possibly a high-end escort."

_Really, Castle? You're going with the high-end escort?_ She couldn't hold back a soft smile as she knew it could have been worse, … at least he didn't say 'stripper'.

"You've really put me in a tough spot now… She'll have more **Heat** on her than any man could possibly handle."

_Ohhh, God, he just went there_. She could feel her face burning from the double entendre.

"The FBI won't stop looking for her until she's found… I think your description of her as 'dangerous' was a gross understatement."

He planted his index finger on her ankle, … then slowly dragged it up her outer thigh; his finger tugged sensuously along the fishnet as it climbed higher and higher.

_Castle? _She practically choked on the gag as his finger meandered over her knee… Her eyes widened in surprise as she never expected him to be so bold, so daring. He lazily tugged his finger upward along her inner thigh.

_Mmmm_… She was starting to lose herself in his wanton eyes and expert finger, and – -

She suddenly jerked her leg away from his touch realizing that he wanted her to play the part, - the part of a scared kidnapped victim who didn't want a strange freak touching her. She glared at him as if offended by his very touch.

_Kate, get your head in the game; _she berated herself for letting her attraction to him throw her off-balance.

He saucily winked at her… She wanted badly to kiss that smug, suave smile off his face. He knew exactly what he was doing to her. _Sexy man._

He turned back to Mr. Collins. Horatio actually looked a bit uncomfortable.

_Keep it up, partner._

"As I said during the auction, she's a rare woman indeed. I didn't lie when I said that she came with a certain 'risk'."

"You also didn't tell the whole truth about her either." Rick said with a sense of superiority. "I wonder how the other buyers would feel if they knew of your deception."

Mr. Collins' face noticeably blanched. "There's no need to involve anyone else, Mr. Rogers. As I said earlier, if you're not pleased with your purchase, Mr. Thornton is next in line."

"I would be willing to bet," Rick said confidently, "that Mr. Thornton will decide in the end, that Detective Angel Wings here just isn't worth the trouble."

_Seriously, Detective Angel Wings? _Lanie had been adamant that when Rick first saw her tattoo, he'd come up with an outrageous nick-name for it; and of course, she was right_… Frustrating, arrogant, cocky man… Ohhh, he's not going to live that one down._

"She'd be just too much to handle for anyone at **his** age." His teasing eyes and flashy grin made her stomach flip-flop.

"I'm a little afraid myself," he said deeply, with conviction…"That I won't be able to handle her." Kate about lost it when his pinky finger lifted up the top of her G-string, and then with a quick flick, he flipped it back to her lower abdomen. She twisted her body to the side as if to get away from his touch.

_Good God._ He's going to pay for that move.

"I, on the other hand, find the prospect of bedding a Detective, **ve - ry** erotic." He swiped the back of his hand down the smooth column of her throat… She watched entranced as his irises turned from blue to a dark shade of midnight. Kate tilted her head to give him better access to her graceful neck, and then his fingers continued down, _down_ to between her breasts.

His hand was soft, gentle and yet firm all at the same time. Rick Castle's writer's hands were a fascinating paradox.

Her breaths noticeably quickened.

"She would be my** very**," _Shit, what is he doing with his thumb?_

"**first,**" his fingers joined his thumb in loosening the criss-cross bow, "**cop**."

Her breasts were rising and falling in quick succession as a result of his lingering fingers, yet his eyes never left her stormy, hazel ones.

She let expletives fly beneath the gag while trying to shake his fingers off her chest.

"But, Mr. Collins," Rick reluctantly pulled himself away from Kate's smoky stare to face Horatio. "It has to be on my terms… I'm taking her on **my** terms."

Collins crossed his arms before replying to Rick, and Kate _knew_ before the words left his mouth that he hadn't changed his mind.

"Mr. Rogers, you are under the mistaken impression that you are allowed to make demands. Our rules here have not changed over the past 10 years, nor will they change in the next 10 years."

She deflated. She expected to hear what Collins said next…

"It's obvious that we don't agree when it comes to my merchandise. I will not be doing business with you in the future… Nico, escort Mr. Rogers off the premises, minus his $10,000 fee to attend tonight's bidding."

_It didn't work. It didn't work. _The feeling of being trapped and bound to this room suddenly overwhelmed her... She struggled futilely against the wrist restraints.

"Wait," Rick paused. He turned eyes to Kate that were filled with hurt, sorrow, and gut-wrenching emotion. Inexplicably, his energy linked to hers, drawing her in, - - letting her know exactly how he felt…

_He's - He's asking me for - -_

An unknown sense entered her heart as realization dawned on Kate. She stopped struggling against the wrist restraints… Her face softened… The doubt, the fear, she had just felt about being trapped in this room turned into something else entirely, … more primal. Her hazel eyes greedily roamed over his body from his mesmerizing eyes to his wide shoulders, lean hips, muscular thighs, and strong legs. She** needed** him**.** They both needed each other.

She smiled through the gag and nodded once in affirmation.

He cleared his throat before trying to speak again to Collins. "I'll only agree to this on one condition."

"Be careful, Mr. Rogers. You're not in charge of this transaction."

"I will not have a man behind that video camera... I'm positive Katherine would be more comfortable, possibly more willing, if a female were present. I'll only agree to the rules if Katrina's in here with us. Not Nico."

Tears glistened her eyes at his thoughtfulness. A_lways the gentleman._

"It's an unusual request," Collins surveyed him objectively, "But my final goal is of course to make my clients happy. I'll agree, … but Nico stands guard outside the door."

Collins held out his hand to shake Castle's. Rick looked like he wanted to put his hands around his neck.

"Call Katrina in here and then guard the door."

"But Boss," Nico whined, leering at Kate one last time. "I was hoping to see her in action."

"Nico!" Collins said harshly.

Nico walked grudgingly over to the intercom on the wall and called Katrina back into the room.

"I apologize for his rude behavior. It's difficult to find hired help with manners. He sometimes forgets that this is a 'Gentleman's club' after all."

Kate was sick and tired of Collin's touting himself as a 'Gentleman'. _Sick pervert._

"Let me warn you again that it's risky to remove her gag." Collins stared at Kate's red, swollen lips. "I'd understand if you feel it's necessary though… I, for one, certainly wouldn't be able to refrain myself from tasting that luscious mouth of hers."

She shivered in disgust.

"You may use anything in the armoire you'd like. I'd personally keep the whip handy in case she gets - difficult."

Katrina knocked first before entering. "Mr. Collins, you called me?"

"Yes. Mr. Rogers has a special request… He'd like you to operate the video camera, and I've agreed."

She looked surprised but quickly composed herself. "Yes, sir. It's not a problem."

"Good. If you have any issues, just signal Nico."

She nodded and then headed to the camera to flick on the power button.

"There is one other rule." Collins continued speaking to Rick. "Do not touch the wrist scarves. They must stay on the entire time… We removed her handcuffs earlier so she'd be more comfortable for you, … so that you'd have easier access to her **lovely **body."

She felt violated by his leer.

Collins turned towards the lock pad. His fingers flew over the numbers to unlock the door.

"Oh, and one more thing, for you both…" He looked between Rick and Kate with a devilish smile. "If there are any problems at all… If I feel, Alex, you're trying to renege on our agreement, or if I feel that Ms Beckett is not – cooperating, … I let Nico back in this room where I'm positive he'll enjoy memorizing every square inch of her ivory skin."

_Oh, I'll be cooperating alright… The only person who's going to be memorizing my skin is Richard Castle, _she thought heatedly.

The door clicked soundly shut. He turned to her with lust-filled, questioning eyes; … His heart thumping madly at his throat.

She knew that if she could see herself in a mirror, her expression and heart beat would match his perfectly.


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm ready to start recording, Mr. Rogers," said Katrina's timid voice.

Rick nodded to her and then approached Kate cautiously, staring into her fascinating green-brown eyes that tended to change color with her mood.

Kate Beckett had never looked more desirable… Although the first time he saw her in the tantalizing-beige, one-piece swimsuit in L.A., all dripping wet with her exotic eyes and sensual mouth, was a very close second.

He had definitely never seen her look hotter… There was just something about a helpless, tied-up Detective Beckett in sinful lingerie, that brought out the animal in him.

She'd kill him for thinking this, but she reminded him of a model that's posed in a more tasteful Playboy photo.

_Christ, I can't believe I'm going to do this._

When he reached the head of the bed, he leaned over and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Kate. I wish things were –"

"Excuse me. There's no whispering," interrupted Katrina. "You must speak aloud so we can hear you on the recording."

Rick still whispered, "I'll block you as much as I can from the camera."

Kate's expressive eyes were filled with gratitude.

He stood about a foot away from the bed… His eyes wavered from hers as he removed the tailored jacket and tossed it onto the end of the bed. He tugged at his lavender tie to loosen it around his neck. He pulled his tie off and threw it on top of his jacket.

Kate watched him eagerly… She was entranced by his nimble fingers deftly undoing each button of his light gray, dress shirt. He quickly shucked the shirt and it joined the pile with his jacket and tie.

She couldn't help herself… She stared in open admiration at his strong chest, lightly sprinkled with tan hair. She admired his bulging biceps and knew from their size that he could easily pick her up. She blushed as she envisioned him backing her into a door while he ravaged her with his lips; then taking his hands and cupping her ass to lift her against him. His impressive arms would have no difficulty holding her in the perfect spot to - - fuck him.

Her eyes skated down to his toned abs which were surprisingly firmer than she imagined them to be, … but what had her eyes transfixed, was the dark hair below his navel that tapered down to reside below his waistband. He removed his belt from his pants, but left on his slacks.

_God, he's seriously - yummy._

Kate was feeling extremely warm and her skin was buzzing from the anticipation of his touch.

She wished he would've thought to remove the gag as she needed to feel his lips on hers, - those lips that had haunted her dreams on many nights since the undercover kiss.

She longed to tell him that in her mind, they were not imprisoned here in an underground hell-hole. They were in his beautiful loft, … secluded in his bedroom, lying on his king-size bed with 1000 thread count sheets.

She didn't think of this as 'forced' sex… This meant so much more.

She hated that she was expected to put on a show… Thank God, before he left the room, Collins threatened her that she needed to – cooperate, … because at some point, she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that she was going to stop struggling and completely shatter under Rick Castle's touch.

His hands reached for the garter belt to unhook it from the fish-net stockings. She immediately jerked her knee upwards into his chest,… as if his touch was offensive.

_I'm sorry, Rick. _

"Good, I like my women feisty," he winked to show her he understood.

"We can always leave the stockings on," he purred. "I do find them extremely - - titillating."

She watched in fascination as he picked up her right leg and began planting open-mouthed kisses along the fishnet, starting at her shin. He held her leg firmly in his large hands, gripping stronger than necessary, as he expected her resistance.

Kate found it difficult to concentrate on anything other than his lips. His lips were firm in their quest… Precise… Following a straight path up her leg… His stubble tickled and tormented along the way setting her nerve endings on fire. Just as she closed her eyes to revel in the sensations he was causing along her outer thigh, … she felt the mattress dip from his weight and her leg was hoisted up in the air and over his left shoulder. He was angled towards her with his back to the camera. He flashed her a coy smile before his teeth landed on the inside of her muscled calf.

She was extremely startled by the move. Her leg twitched as he ascended further up the inside of her sculpted calf.

_Jesus, he's doing something wicked with his teeth and tongue. _It felt like he was nibbling her, trying to taste, and then feast on every inch of her leg.

He paused at the juncture of her knee cap, sucking and biting the skin there with an intensity that made her bones melt. He was trying to give her a hickey… Mark her as his… She knew immediately when the fishnet stockings ripped… It caused her to shudder.

When he momentarily paused, and his guard was down, she whipped her leg out of his hands, over his head, barely nicking his chin in the process.

He turned to her with dark eyes.

"Now, Detective Beckett, how are we supposed to get to know one another with your saucy attitude?" His voice was rich, thick, filled with passion… "I think I need a closer look at the merchandise to determine how to proceed."

He stood at the end of the bed which had no foot board. He grabbed both her ankles, mindful of her feet, and brought her legs forcefully together. His eyes narrowed seductively as he scanned up her athletic figure.

"I must say, that you are simply the most exquisite woman I've ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on." His firm hands massaged as much of her legs as he could reach, relishing in the fact that he could finally touch her model-length gams.

The endorphins rushing through Kate's body were making it difficult for her to catch her breath. She was more turned-on than she'd ever been before in her entire life. There was something inexplicably sexy about not being able to touch him… It heightened her other senses, … and yet … at the same time it was driving her crazy.

"Might I remind you that Mr. Collins suggested I use a whip to keep you in line… It's not my style. I prefer not to resort to such drastic measures." He pursed his lips before climbing seductively up towards her.

_Ohhhh dear God, _Rick was looking at her like a lion surveys its prey right before it pounces.

"I wouldn't want to mar your beautiful skin." His eyes traveled over every inch of her body while he crawled up her legs, - from her ankles, her knees, her thighs, to that barely-there piece of fabric covering her pubic area, her abs, her heaving breasts, up to her flushed face.

Kate's eyes widened when she realized his intentions… Rick sat back on his haunches careful to not put his full weight on her, but where he was sitting - -

_Lord, _his buttocks rested on her upper thighs and when he leaned towards her, his erection pushed down right where she needed it, right where she wanted him to be, … nestled between the juncture of her thighs. Her ass instinctively clenched and shoved him closer to her wet heat.

His eyebrows raised a fraction and then that shit-eating grin of his split his face.

_I'm going to enjoy wiping that smug, arrogant grin off his face, _she thought humorously.

He leaned forward to tease the laces of the bustier.

He reverently began untying the bodice. He was struggling though as his hands were shaking slightly.

He laughed inside feeling like a clumsy virgin who was about to see a girls breasts for the first time. When he'd loosened 3 inches of the top, he looked into her heated gaze.

_I love you Kate, _he thought before tugging down on the corners of the bustier, only exposing a small portion of her chest. His eyes couldn't help themselves as they left her face and traveled down the graceful column of her sleek neck, down to the crevice of her small breasts. He immediately focused on the tiny bullet scar.

His thumb reached out and ran over the puckered skin. He pressed on the mark, then circled around it.… This scar symbolized her will to survive; her will to serve others; her will to find justice, and told a unique story about the courageous Detective before him, … the courageous, beautiful woman before him.

He couldn't resist any longer and bent over to kiss the scar.

Kate's heart was pumping so fast that she felt like she was running a marathon. She watched in slow motion as Rick bent over and placed a delicate kiss on her scar. His lips lingered on the marred skin as if worshipping it. His hands were splayed around her ribcage, his thumbs positioned right below her breast line. As he kissed her scar, his thumbs caressed the underside of her breasts.

When his lips finally pulled away from the bullet mark, his hands reached once more for the bustier… His fingers skimmed purposefully over her already aroused nipples while unlacing the bodice… He was infuriatingly, maddeningly slow… Kate moaned through the gag when he finally pulled open the bodice and her breasts tumbled gloriously free.

His eyes glazed over with undisguised lust. "You are so beautiful," he said in a bedroom voice… Then he was on all fours, his knees to the side of her lower thighs and his hands to the side of her chest. He didn't touch any other part of her body as his mouth descended to her left nipple.

Kate's eyes fluttered closed and her head lulled back onto the pillow as his lips first met the sensitive nub. His lips selfishly claimed her nipple… He tenderly sucked it… His tongue swirled around the tip, and then his teeth bit gently and pulled, adding excruciating torment to her already heightened sexual awareness.

_Christ, it feels so - - _It was simply the most erotic thing she'd ever before felt in her life. Not being able to touch him… His hands not touching her… Only feeling - - Feeling his lips, tongue and teeth on her nipple made her want to scream out his name.

He drew back from her breast and blew hot air on the areola.

She couldn't stay still. Her body was yearning for more intimacy, … craving him. When his lips finally found her other nipple, she arched her back so that the nub shoved further into his mouth.

That move ignited a fire within Rick.

His subsequent growl caused a surge of liquid heat to flow directly between her legs.

His previous gentle ministrations turned rough… His teeth wreaked havoc on her right nipple, pulling and tugging on it to his heart's content. He greedily sucked at the bud until it throbbed from his expert touch.

Kate whimpered sexily. _He's so good._

Rick scooted back, still on all fours and dug his hands into her petite hip bones for support. He leaned hungrily towards her innie belly button. His wet, hot tongue dipped first into the orifice, tasting and lapping at the small area… Then his mouth closed completely over her navel. His 5 o'clock shadow scratched around the area and created a delicious friction… Within seconds, her body was singed from his fire.

_Lower, _she thought sinfully_, Castle, lower._

It was like he could read her mind.

Rick shimmied lower to plant erotic kisses below her navel… down, down to the top of the cream-colored, leather G-string.

His chin lifted up and he looked at her wolfishly to see if he should continue.

Castle felt his libido soar as her eyes, now a chocolate brown color flaming in desire, seemed to scream, "Don't you dare stop!"

His grin spoke volumes to his state-of-mind before he lowered his head again back to her tempting toned abs and that damn, miniscule, leather piece of fabric.

He continued lavishing kisses below her belly button and paused briefly once he reached the elastic of the panties. He nipped at both the fabric and her skin at the same time.

Kate closed her eyes to revel in his lovemaking. _Shit! He's going to use his teeth to pull the G-string down over my - ._

Rick groaned as he bit down on the elastic of the G-string.

_Christ, he could smell her… She was musky as well as sweet… Kate Beckett was obviously very aroused because of him._

_Because of him. _The ache in his groin magnified to a painful state… God, he was going to lose it… He had to catch his breath… He had to gain some control or otherwise he was going to hurt her.

Kate was shocked that one moment, Castle's teeth were doing something incredible to her pelvis, and the next she felt cold air tickling her skin because he was suddenly no longer above her. He wasn't even on the bed.

Her glazed eyes opened and it took a second to focus. He had both hands on the door of the armoire, bending at the waist, leaning his weight onto it… She was mesmerized by his muscular back. It was extremely well-defined… His bulging trapezius and lat muscles tapered down to a narrow waist. She'd always thought he had a great ass, but seeing his body posture like this… His ass was simply fabulous.

His trapezius muscles flexed in frustration. He was taking deep, cleansing breaths. His right hand came up and shakily ran through his hair.

_Castle? _

Rick was obviously struggling with continuing... _Damn Horatio Collins for forcing their first time like this._

She looked on concerned as he opened up the armoire door. He pulled out a water bottle, opened the cap and took several gulps. His hand reached into the condom box and pulled out a ribbed, size large condom.

He approached Kate cautiously, with a hesitant smile. When he reached the head of the bed, he leaned close to her, inhaling deeply her cherry-scented shampoo. He placed the condom in her right hand and squeezed her fingers shut, holding tight to her fist.

"Katherine," his voice caught, "it's up to you whether or not this happens between us."

He sat down on the bed facing her… His stormy eyes locked with hers as he reached behind her head and gingerly unknotted the silk scarf.


	10. Chapter 10

"Now, Detective Beckett, you're not going to bite me, are you?" he asked playfully, while untying the gag from the back of her hair.

She rolled her eyes at him at the same time she shook her head negatively.

_Was he seriously teasing her right now? Infuriating, HOT, sexy man._

"No," she squeaked out for the camera.

His right hand tucked stray strands of hair behind her ear.

"Ri -," she cleared her throat. "Alex, I…" she faltered. _What can I say in front of the camera that won't give me away?_

Rick jumped in to save her from the pending awkwardness. "I think I have to agree with Mr. Collins' assessment of your lips." The back of his fingers brushed over them softly. "They are simply irresistible."

He scooted next to her chest, and brought his right knee up on the bed so he could angle himself closer to her... His hands splayed into her hair, similar to that night a year ago in the alley. Just before his lips touched hers, he mumbled, "I've been longing to kiss you again ever since we had to save Ryan and Espo's ass."

And when his lips molded onto hers, he could taste her smile.

Kate responded with utter abandon. She opened her mouth to him willingly… She gave her lips over to him completely.

Her tongue searched frantically for his… Once found, their tongues grappled and intertwined with one another, feeding off the others need.

She scraped her tongue along the roof of his mouth and then the back of his teeth.

Rick tasted like French toast and premium, dark-roast coffee. She couldn't get enough of his taste. He was temptingly sweet and deliciously intoxicating all at the same time.

Every single article she'd ever read about Rick Castle's womanly wiles were 100% true. _Damn, the man can kiss._ His lips felt like soft, silky, satin.

He was using his lips to his best advantage by first allowing Kate to take the lead,… giving her a false sense of being in control, … and then with a unique twist of his tongue, he drug a moan from her mouth as he commandeered the kiss to suit his own needs.

_Rick Castle is quickly going to become an addiction._

When he pulled away from their kiss to give them both some air, Kate smiled adoringly… Her full, toothy, bright grin that sent his heart to hammering every time she graced him with it.

She then pouted seductively, "Get back here." She yanked on her silk wrist ties trying to get her body closer to him.

"I'll never be able to resist you," came his immediate, gruff reply, and he dove back into her lips, kissing her senseless… Over and over again his lips captured hers.

While kissing, his right hand snuck itself under her ass… While he continued the on-slaught of her lips, his right hand clenched and massaged her butt cheek, sending Kate spiraling into a whirlwind of desire.

She pulled away after a few minutes, practically begging. "Touch me. I want you to touch me."

"Jesus, Beckett," came his tortured reply, "I'll do anything for you, - anything you wish."

He removed his right hand from under her ass and reached inside the loose bustier to fondle her small, pert breast. Kate bit on her lower lip enticingly… She closed her eyes. His thumb occasionally swiped across her nipple with a whisper-light caress, sending shivers of anticipation through her belly.

While his right hand worked his magic on her breast, caressing and fondling the mound, his left hand was at the back of her neck, - massaging, - trying to loosen the tense muscles due to having her hands restrained for the past 24 hours. His hand felt heavenly as it moved to her upper shoulders, his palm digging into the tight muscles, pressing firmly.

She sighed unhappily as his hand suddenly left her shoulder and – _WAIT. _His hand was behind her working on the silk scarf attached to her left wrist.

_Dammit Rick. That's too risky, _but she couldn't dwell on it for long as his right hand decided to move over to her other breast and shower it with his masterful attention.

_Rick Castle is definitely a multi-tasker_, she thought with immense satisfaction.

When she opened her eyes, she stared openly at his handsome face, … all-male lines and angles with a prominent nose and square chin and a beautiful mouth… A mouth she resolved to kiss again every day for the rest of her life.

"Alex," she said anxiously. "You know how I feel, right?"

He placed a section of brown curls around her ear and then his lips descended to that same ear… "Huh?" he asked throatily before his mouth landed on the outer shell and began feathering kisses from the tip of her ear down to the lobe.

"Ummm," Kate lost her train of thought with what he was doing to her.

His hot breath in her ear canal caused a tickling sensation throughout her upper body… She couldn't stop her immediate grin or how her shoulders scrunched up in an attempt to get away from him.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?" and he leaned back into her ear again, pressing his lips around the lobe, his nose tickling the inside of her ear.

"You know what." And she playfully flipped her head to the side to pull away from him.

"Ahhh, so Detective Beckett is ticklish." She knew he was going to file that information away and torment her with it on another occasion.

The way his gaze fell to her sleek neck left her little doubt where his lips would land next, and Rick Castle certainly did not disappoint.

_Oh, God, … Oh God, _she felt the bruise begin to form as his expert mouth bit into her jugular, sucking furiously at the tender flesh… His right hand left her breast and skimmed its way over her ribs, down past her belly button and then down further to the elastic of the G-string, … _Lord, _where his fingers played sinfully with the material.

Kate then said something that Rick thought he would **never, ever** hear come out of her mouth… She breathily begged, "Put your fingers where they belong," and she opened her legs slightly.

His manhood soared. "Is that an order, Detective?"

"Do you need it to be?" She ground out.

A devilish smile crossed his face… That's what he'd been waiting for, - - her controlling, Detective, tone-of-voice that did it for him every single God-damn time.

He didn't think it was possible for him to get any harder as he was already stretched to the hilt, ... his pants unbearably tight, … but somehow with Kate Beckett, the impossible became possible.

He layed next to her on his side, facing her, his elbow on the mattress, his hand supporting his head while he looked into her stormy eyes… He swung his right leg over hers and molded himself into the side of her body… His erection pressed erotically into her hip.

His right hand never left the leather fabric… He swirled an infinity sign on top of the material, around and around again in a figure 8, dipping ever closer to her wet heat.

"Where exactly would you like my fingers?" He asked dangerously.

"Al – ex," she drug out the name in frustration.

"How about here?" and his fingers traveled to the side of the panties where he barely slid them beneath the fabric, teasing her mercilessly.

He then got the famous Beckett glare.

"Or here?" he continued charmingly, his blue eyes twinkling, while he placed his thumb just above the juncture of her thighs.

He could tell he was driving her insane by her rapid breathing and the intense, sexy look on her face, which seemed to say, "Castle, I'm going to kill you and enjoy every second of it if you don't - -"

And then, her gorgeous, expressive eyes rolled back in her head as he finally decided to stop torturing her (or was it to start beginning the tortue?) and his fingers crooked the skimpy material out of the way so he could find her heat.

And holy fuck, she was wet.

He instinctively rocked into her hip as his fingers found her wet folds… His thumb pressed intimately against her clitoris, pressing and rubbing with constant pressure… not too soft, not too rough… He sensed that she was close when her lips parted and a sultry gasp left her mouth, leaving him on the verge of losing it himself.

_God, she's the hottest woman I've ever seen… _and at that moment, even in the danger they were in, Rick felt like the luckiest man alive.

He was entranced by the expression on her face… Her eyes were tightly shut, making the smile lines surrounding them more noticeable. There was a hint of perspiration covering her forehead. Her lips were slightly open, exposing part of her pearly, white teeth; but the thing that enthralled him the most was hearing her short gasps of air, confirming to him that she was very close to climaxing.

She started moving her pelvis so that his fingers shoved hard against her core.

"Al - ex," she begged.

Rick knew immediately what she was asking and slid two fingers inside her heat.

_Ohhh dear Gawwd, his fingers are long and thick, and he knows exactly how to use them. _

He put his two fingers inside her up to the knuckle, and then paused, basking in the knowledge that he finally had Kate Beckett where he'd wanted her for the last 3 and a half years. (He gleefully took a mental photo of her mouth as it was in the sexiest shape he'd ever seen on a woman before while having sex)

He pulled his fingers out and gently slid them back in.

At her incredible, sexy, sultry moan he buried his digits to the hilt within her sugar walls. He circled them around inside her, … over and over again; then he paused to watch Kate squirm in anticipation, … before he withdrew his fingers once more… He stroked over her swollen clit and then found his way back home inside her, where he curled his fingers…

And then,_ then, _… she completely shattered.

Kate's back bowed and her head threw back against the pillows; she screamed his name as she climaxed; her sugar walls pulsed around his fingers as he continued to move them slowly in and out of her body… Rick whispered sweet nothings in her ear as he watched her come undone before him, … because of him.

"God, Kate… you have no idea how incredible, how amazing, how beautiful you are."

Her face was serene, almost shining with an ethereal glow, as she came back down from the immense high of Castle's lovemaking. Her breathing slowed and deepened as her body relaxed from the earlier sexual tension.

Her eyes found his. In their depths she saw wonder, amazement, and unbelief that this had actually just happened between them, … but below the surface of his baby blues he was wound as tight as a spring… Kate knew, without a doubt, that he'd be ready in a millisecond, to let his inhibitions go, - - to **make them one**.

All he needed was the slightest bit of encouragement from her.

"Well, Mr. Rogers," she said loud enough for the camera, "That's certainly a first for me… I've never," and she looked embarrassed as she said, "climaxed that quickly before."

His cocky grin lit up the whole room.

She smirked back before saying, "And it was so damn good in fact, that I dropped something very important." She bit her lower lip suggestively, knowing exactly how it affected him.

"Would you mind picking it up and putting it on for me?" Her eyes looked ravenous as she dropped them from his face to stare intimately at his crotch.

He was completely speechless; a first for Rick Castle.

_Christ_, it's sexy as hell knowing he'd gotten her so worked up that she'd dropped the condom.

He was seriously struggling with his libido at this point so it took a few seconds for his befuddled brain to register that he was gaping at her like a love-sick teenager. Then he was up off the mattress in a flash, searching on the bed below her hand for the condom.

_Where is that Trojan? _

Rick was looking for it between the pillows when the door opened and heavy footsteps entered the room. Collins' deep voice sent a chill down his spine.

"It seems we have a problem."


	11. Chapter 11

When Kate saw Collins enter the room, her natural high from Rick's lovemaking plummeted.

_Shit! I've blown this. - I was too willing. – He's wondering why I screamed "Castle." - - God, let him believe that I had to fantasize about another man to get through this… Please don't let him figure out that Castle's my partner. _

She turned sorrowful eyes to Rick._ This is all my fault._

"It seems we have a problem," Horatio stated flatly.

Rick stopped looking for the condom and turned to Collins who was eyeing Kate's misaligned G-string with undisguised appreciation.

_Deviant bastard. _

At a signal from Collins, Katrina powered off the camera.

"It has come to my attention that you've broken one of my rules, Mr. Rogers." Collins hesitatingly tore his eyes away from Kate's open bodice and asked, "Did you attempt to bargain for Ms. Beckett during the auction?" His eyes narrowed as he studied Rick closely for signs of deception.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it bargaining, Mr. Collins… I spoke with Mr. Thornton about her and convinced him that she was the only woman I was interested in purchasing." He grinned charmingly at him. "We are 'gentlemen' here after all... Mr. Thornton and I were able to come to a certain agreement about her."

"Did you ask him to stop bidding on her?"

"No. I did not." He said with authority. He specifically remembered asking Mr. Thornton what it would take for him to stop bidding on Kate.

Rick continued, "Is it against the rules for buyers to converse with one another during the auction?"

"No, but it's not a common occurrence. Most buyers keep their thoughts to themselves while perusing the girls."

"Well, I'm not like most buyers… Come on, Horatio," Rick said in a calm, even tone. "You're the one who recommended her to me after we discussed what type of woman I was looking for… You had to know I'd do everything in my power to purchase her."

Collins looked at him skeptically, "Yes, I recommended her to you, … but it's against our rules for buyers to bargain with one another during a sale… Side deals aren't allowed." His smile chilled Rick's blood. "They hurt my business as I lose profit on the sale."

Rick looked over at Kate who was undoubtedly trying to control her anger. She was chewing her bottom lip to shreds and her eyes were spewing daggers at Collins. He knew she didn't want to draw attention to herself as it might further exacerbate the situation… She couldn't take the chance that Rick's cover would be blown.

Kate simmered silently. She didn't like the way the conversation was going… Collins was a hard-ass when it came to rules. This certainly didn't bode well for them.

_Maybe this is the opportunity I've been looking for… Collins is alone. I don't believe he's carrying a piece. Rick and I can take him together. _

She checked her left wrist restraint… _Yes, _Rick had loosened it enough to where it wouldn't take much exertion on her part to free her left hand. Unfortunately, it wasn't her dominant one so she would waste precious time trying to loosen the right scarf… And there's no possible way she could attempt to free herself without being noticed.

Nico, was just a few feet away, right outside the door, and he was armed. It was just too risky as Collins could easily alert Nico, and he'd have absolutely no qualms about hurting Rick. Rick was too easy of a target. She'd never forgive herself if anything happened to him. **_Never._**

"Excuse me, Mr. Collins," Katrina piped up softly. "It's my fault. I didn't get to meet with Mr. Rogers before the bidding process to go over our rules." She looked guiltily at her feet. "Mr. Dubois sidetracked me."

"Dubois, huh? Did he try to lure you away from me again, Katrina?"

"No," she replied, obviously startled by the question. "He wanted a personal biography of each of the girls up for sale… It took longer than I originally intended."

"Hmm." He replied, "Why don't I believe you?"

She raised frightened eyes to Rick. He could feel the fear emanating off her in waves. _Dear God, what has this man done to her?_

"You can speak with Mr. Dubois if you'd like."

"Rest assured, I will." Collins looked disappointed with her. "You also know the punishment for failing to do your job."

"Yes, I know, Sir," and her upper lip trembled. Rick had had enough of his smug, arrogant ass.

"Look, Horatio. I take full blame for crossing the line with Mr. Thornton. I didn't realize that discussing the merchandise during the sale would cause such an upheaval… I apologize." Rick felt his tongue curl in disgust having to apologize to this psycho.

"Don't insult my intelligence. We both know that it was more than just discussing Ms. Beckett during the sale… You offered Mr. Thornton a favor if he would stop bidding on her…" Rick tried to interrupt but Collins brushed him aside. "It's useless to deny it. I know it's a fact, Mr. Rogers… I'm afraid that we won't ever agree on this matter… Nico!" He called the brute into the room.

"I've decided to take Mr. Thornton up on his offer of purchasing Detective Beckett for $200,000.00. He would like her thoroughly - cleansed." He grinned wickedly at Rick. "He doesn't want any of Mr. Roger's _smell_ on her."

_**Oh, hell no! **_Rick fumed.

"She's scheduled for the full spa treatment - - shower, facial, hair and nails… Take her to Louisa."

"Yes, boss."

"And Mr. Thornton thinks she'll be stunning dressed as Wonder Woman… Take a few pictures of her in that costume for our catalogue collection."

Rick was going to lose it… They were only taking Kate away from him over his own dead body… He stepped threateningly towards Nico, blocking his path from advancing towards Kate. His hands were balled into fists, ready to fly at a moments notice.

"Don't touch her. She's mine." He growled ferociously.

Nico stood toe to toe with Castle.

Kate's gut clenched in total fear as a familiar sound to her echoed throughout the small room… The sound of metal grinding against metal, like 2 large magnets crashing together… The unmistakable sound of a handgun being cocked.

She looked on in horror as Nico brought the small-caliber weapon up to Castle's head.

"God, no!" she yelled, and simultaneously Rick said, "$300,000.00 dollars, Collins. I'll pay you $300,000.00."

Collins hand rose to block the barrel of the gun… "Nico, that's not necessary."

Nico lowered the gun to his side, looking disgruntled that he didn't get permission to blow Castle away.

"Well, it seems I have a dilemma here." Collins brought his manicured hand beneath his chin as if deep-in-thought. "I do pride myself on making my clients happy… Plus, Katrina has admitted that she failed to do her job properly, which means you were not told the rules in advance."

The way he ogled Katrina, Castle knew that Collins was looking forward to the punishment he was going to mete out later.

"But alas, I know that you brought only $150,000.00 cash with you tonight, and I do only accept cash... You and I both know that bank transfers can be traced… So with that in mind - "

"Mr. Collins," Rick interrupted. "I'm good for the money. You may have my Ferrari as collateral. I can have the rest of the funds here by 10 am tomorrow morning." He pulled the valet stub out of his rear pants pocket and handed it to Collins. "I've rarely driven it," Rick continued smoothly while never removing his gaze from Collins' black, cold eyes, "It's fire-engine red, in pristine condition, with only 4,300 miles on it." He almost offered to let him keep the car in addition to giving him the cash, but he knew it would be like waving a red cape in front of a bull. Collins was a sharp man… He'd pick up and run with the knowledge that Rick was just a bit too desperate for this particular girl. He didn't want him to have any reason to speculate why a buyer would be particularly zealous over a sale.

_God, who am I kidding?_ He was shaky, perspiring, his gut gnawing at him from the inside out with worry over losing Kate. His mother was the one with the acting genes, not him; and he was afraid that he was doing a very poor job of hiding his emotional attachment to her. If Collins found out that they knew each other, the deal was off… He'd most likely be dead and Kate would be sold to Thornton. Too much was at stake for him to blow this.

"The car is of course at the Hotel Le Bleu where your driver picked me up for tonight's auction. I'm happy to give you the keys so one of your men can pick it up tonight."

He kept his body posture relaxed and his gaze steady on Collins' face waiting for him to make a decision. The seconds ticked away, and the waiting seemed more like an hour to Rick, when in actuality, it was less than a minute.

"You're not a simple man, are you, Mr. Rogers?" and the way he said 'simple' implied he only liked to deal with businessmen who were uncomplicated and followed the rules.

"No, I've never had the privilege of being called a 'simple' man." He smiled broadly. "Although I have been accused in the past of acting like a 9-year-old-on-a-sugar-rush."

He glanced briefly at Kate who flashed him a soft smile… Her tawny eyes reflected, "I have complete faith in you. I trust you."

Just seeing her reassurance in him boosted his ability to convince Collins. "Look Horatio, I know what I want."

Kate watched him bring on the Castle charm - - warm, friendly voice, ... adorable, boyish expressions, ... and exuding man-ly confidence. She'd never tell him this, but she loved to watch him in action when his ego took over and she could see firsthand his brilliant mind in action.

"Once I've made my decision, there's no changing my mind. I want her. $300,000.00 has got to be a huge coup for your business… As a fellow businessman, I know it would be beneficial for your company to accept my offer. Plus good business, means good referrals. I'm happy to recommend your quality merchandise to several of my friends."

"Well," he tapped his foot impatiently,"Mr. Thornton is a devoted, long-time customer of mine. I'd hate to upset him and lose his business… I'm going to look at the tape first before making my final decision."

_Fuck!_

Collins addressed Katrina, "Set up the tape in my office. Nico, I want you back standing guard at the door." Nico blew Kate a kiss and gave her a lewd, hand gesture before opening the door for his boss.

Rick fantasized about breaking his fingers.

Collins paused before leaving the room… "Either way, there's an upside to this situation for you, Mr. Rogers… I'm feeling generous this evening." He chuckled darkly. "I'm going to let you continue to **sample** the merchandise before I make my final decision… Enjoy the Detective while you can." He looked lustfully at her long, edible legs. "If I were you, I'd happily take advantage of the opportunity."

Kate dry-heaved. The man literally made her ill.

As the door closed behind the two men, Castle turned to Kate with utter desperation in his eyes. _God, what are we going to do now?_

Neither of them noticed that Katrina had lagged behind pretending to fiddle with the camera.

Rick was startled upon hearing her say, "He's never going to let you have her. It's obvious that you two have an - - ," she paused looking for the right word, "**intense** connection… I've never seen anything so – " She tapered off, unable to finish the sentence. "Listen close," she said hurriedly. "The code for this room is 49-98. The elevator code is 55-06-12. I'll take care of the security guard inside the elevator. Be there in 20 minutes."

"Kate?" Rick questioned, and she knew without hesitation that Rick was asking her if she got the codes.

"Got it," Kate whispered.

Rick checked his watch to mark the time. "Thank you, Katrina. Please come with us. You need to get away from this psychopath."

"No, I can't... Collins will take my sister if I don't stay with him… Please thank Matthew Grey once more for saving her life."

"We will and thank you," Kate said sincerely. "I **promise** you that the NYC Police force will take down this monster." At Katrina's broken expression, they both knew she didn't believe her.

"I wish I could do more," Katrina said as she typed in the key code. The door opened and she swished through it without a backward glance, heading to Collins office to give him the tape.


	12. Chapter 12

As soon as Katrina breezed out of the room, Castle was on the bed, cupping Kate's face tenderly.

"Are you truly okay? … Did that bastard touch you?" The overwhelming emotion in his voice was her undoing.

"I'm okay, and no, Ri - ckkk, no," she stuttered. Her eyes glistened with tears. "He didn't touch me… God, I'm so glad you're here."

He untied the ties on her wrists completely. Her arms immediately snaked their way around his neck and pulled him close to her… She deeply inhaled the unique scent of _him_, finding immense comfort in his presence.

"Would you lie to me, Kate, - - afraid of what I'd do if I knew the truth?"

She pulled away from him and looked straight into his piercing blue eyes. "No, I'm not lying… Neither Collins or Nico touched me in that way." She smiled to hopefully reassure him. "Besides being starved to death, and my feet feeling like they're on fire, I'm really fine."

He sighed. "I'm so relieved to hear that… You have no idea of the hell I've gone through worrying about you these last few days."

She put her forehead against his. "Thank you for coming for me… If I'm ever that pig-headed in the future, I give you permission to beat my ass to remind me that I'm never allowed to kick you off a case again… I **need** you, Partner."

Rick squeezed her tighter and whispered teasingly into her ear, "I don't know if I'm comfortable beating your ass, but I would certainly enjoy spanking it."

She pulled back from him with a witty, flirtatious, retort on the tip of her tongue, but the expression on his face stopped her in her tracks.

"Castle? … What's wrong?"

He couldn't even look her in the eyes. "I'm so sorry for –" He gulped, "for taking advantage of you… I was weak… I couldn't face the alternative… I -"

_What the hell? He thinks he took advantage of me?_

"Don't." she interrupted him forcefully. "Don't you dare apologize." She took her hand and brushed it through a lock of hair that had fallen onto his forehead. "Rick, you did NOT take advantage of me… Please don't taint what I see as an incredible, amazing, unselfish act on your part."

"Unselfish? Jesus, how can you see it like that? It's probably the most selfish thing I've done in the past decade." He pushed himself away from her and started pacing the room.

"I can't be near you without being affected, Kate… My body instinctively reacts to you when we're in the same room… But with you dressed like this?" He waved his arm towards her and his voice dropped to a throaty purr, "so sexy, so scintillating, so damn slutty, … I can barely keep my hands to myself. "

Kate smiled enticingly. _Did he really just say that_? He most certainly did… _Rick Castle just said I look slutty and for some odd reason, it feels like the greatest compliment I've ever received in my life._

"You're every man's 'Nikki Heat' fantasy," Rick continued breathily. "Even now, I could -" He stopped pacing and looked at her with smoky eyes.

God, she knew it was true by the expression on his face. He was having difficulty controlling himself. His eyes were roaming over her body with undisguised desire and his whole body was tense in anticipation as if, _as if -_

She licked her suddenly dry lips. Jesus, even she couldn't deny the chemistry zinging through the room… Her eyes daringly descended to the front of his pants.

He groaned. "Kate, don't do that."

"Do what?" she asked innocently, knowing full well that she was adding fuel to the fire.

He raised his eyebrows. "I'm trying to be a gentleman here and apologize for being a cad."

"And you're not listening to me," she said in exasperation, desperate to knock some sense into his head. "I don't want your apology… I allowed what happened between us. I wanted it to happen, Castle. I wouldn't have told you to 'touch me' if I didn't mean it." She scooted closer to the edge of the bed. "Maybe, what I need in my life is Richard Castle acting more like the scoundrel, the playboy, the cad." She boldly winked at him.

"Be careful what you wish for, Detective." He lazily drawled.

His voice melted her insides, but it was his lips that drew her in… They were utterly adorable pursed in sexual frustration and she absolutely had to kiss that look off his face. She had to convince him that what happened earlier in this room was the most incredible, intimate moment of her life… She was never letting him go now that she'd had a taste of him.

Kate tried to get off the bed to reach him, but as soon as her feet touched the floor, she realized she was in seriously bad shape… Just trying to stand, her legs wobbled from the strain, and the pain in her feet became almost unbearable.

Rick caught her before she collapsed back onto the bed. She held herself up by holding onto his forearms.

"Shit, Castle!" Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm afraid I may be in worse shape than I originally thought… This isn't good… I'm not going to be much use."

"Do you think you can walk?" He asked with heart-felt concern. She took a couple of tentative steps away from him.

"Yes, but I'm not going to be running a marathon anytime soon." An alluring grin split her face as she said teasingly, "I just might need a strong, muscular guy to assist me though… Know anyone who might volunteer for the job?"

"I thought I'd never see the day when the controlling Detective Beckett asked for help from someone with testosterone." He smiled. "I'll volunteer for the job, but only on one condition… We cover you up **immediately**." He grabbed his jacket and put it around her shoulders while Kate properly aligned her G-string.

_Damn that hot, tiny piece of fabric_. His fingers ached to touch the hidden skin beneath it… His dirty mind wondered if Kate waxed on a regular basis, or if Collins had ordered it done before they dressed her in lingerie.

The familiar tug on his groin escalated once more. _I'm going to be hard all night long._

Rick continued to torture himself though by watching her fiddle with the bustier… Her lean fingers deftly pulled the ribbons closer together to hide her tantalizing abs, and then ascended upwards to hide that remarkable bullet scar. Kate was sneaking glances at him beneath her lashes, _the minx_. When he saw her fingers accidentally skim over her nipple, _Sweet Jesus,_ he finally couldn't take it any longer and looked away. He grabbed his shirt to distract himself and pulled it on, buttoning it quickly.

After making sure the lingerie was presentable again, Kate put her arms through Castle's jacket.

After his shirt was tucked into place, Rick asked cryptically, "Is Nico the one who sliced your feet?"

Kate really didn't want to get into this discussion right now, but knew that he wouldn't drop it without getting some answers.

"Yes."

"With what?"

Kate hesitated telling him because she knew how he would react. "With a scalpel."

She watched as pure rage seeped through his body. "If I come across him again, I'm not responsible for my actions." His menacing tone-of-voice frightened her.

"Castle, please, -" Kate couldn't even think about him going head-to-head with Nico. She was already going to have nightmares for the next few months just from seeing that gun held to his head. "Don't make this about revenge," she pleaded. "Our top priority has to be escaping from here so we can stop Collins… We have to make sure the police shut him down so that we save these girls." She searched his face to see if she was getting through to him, but from the firm set of his jaw and cold eyes, Kate knew that if they came across Nico, there was no stopping him.

She softened her tone-of-voice, compelling him, begging him to listen. "Rick, I promised Katrina justice for her little sister. We have to get out of here safely as we're the only ones who can stop him from kidnapping more gir –"

Her heart stopped as the door knob rattled… Kate motioned to him to get behind the door. She positioned herself back on the bed as if her hands were still tied to the headboard.

Nico chuckled as he opened the door, "I know the boss said to wait, but I wanna - -"

_Speak of the devil. Oh, this is going to be fun, _Rick thought.

Nico didn't see Castle coming… Just as he rounded the door and it started closing, Rick landed a solid kidney punch to his lower-left back and immediately followed it with a right hook to the base of his skull. The impact caused Nico to drop the syringe in his hand which went skittering across the floor.

Nico grunted, but quickly recovered from the surprise attack… His reflexes were still pretty sharp as he'd had boxing training in his youth. He turned to confront his attacker, but his bulk slowed him down a bit and Rick was able to land a lucky uppercut to his jaw.

Kate heard Nico's teeth clash together from the hit.

The punch threw his head back, but didn't deter him in any manner… It only fueled his anger. With a wicked gleam in his eye and a devious laugh, he hunched over and barreled his head into Castle's abdomen, shoving him back into the closed door.

Kate grimaced at the deafening sound of Rick's back crashing into the door. Nico immediately followed the tackle by throwing his head upwards and butting him beneath his chin. The head-butt stunned Castle for a moment but he was thinking clearly enough to hurl his right knee up into Nico's groin, … which didn't have the desired effect he was going for… _Shit! _Nico happened to be wearing a cup.

A malicious smile spread across his face before he jabbed Rick in the nose with enough force that blood splattered over his silk shirt. Nico threw another jab, but Rick was expecting it this time so was able to effectively block it before landing a blow of his own to Nico's mid-section. He stumbled a bit from the blow and that's when Rick saw the gun exposed in the waistband of his jeans. He grabbed the butt of the gun and pulled, but the trigger guard got caught on the rivet of the jeans, which allowed Nico to land a bruising punch to Rick's ribs.

Rick moaned as the pain tore through his side. He grappled with Nico in a 'boxer's hug' and with ferocious strength pushed him back into the bed where he toppled over onto the bedspread. Thankfully, Kate moved to the side in time so Nico didn't land on her.

That's when her cop instincts kicked in and the bad-ass Detective took over…

Rick's mouth dropped open in complete and utter amazement. He was stupefied, in a trance-like state.

His eyes bugged out of his head as he watched Kate perform some incredible yoga move where she scissor kicked her legs and then flipped, suddenly landing on Nico's chest, straddling him… Her buttocks was on his stomach, her thighs at his ribs, squeezing them, holding him firmly in place, while her knees pressed lightly at his throat.

Nico's deviant laughter emanated throughout the room. "Just how I imagined."

Kate looked disgusted and Rick could've kissed her right then and there for her unusual, unlady-like response… "Did you imagine this?" She spit boldly in his face before squeezing her thighs tighter and applying infinitely more pressure with her knees.

"Castle!" she yelled to yank him out of his stupor. "The needle." He nodded and quickly searched for the syringe which had landed near the armoire.

Nico started wheezing and gurgling, frantically gasping for air. When he realized the predicament he was in, he began swatting at Kate and bucking his hips to try and get her off him, but to no avail.

"You bitch!" he hissed.

Castle grabbed his forehead with his left hand and yanked his head to the side, exposing his thick neck. "Be grateful that this isn't a scalpel," and with extreme pleasure Rick jabbed the needle into his neck and injected the drug. Nico went limp almost immediately.

Kate reached underneath him and took the Smith and Wesson before climbing off his chest. She checked the chamber: 3 bullets. She couldn't help but be impressed by the high-caliber silencer on the weapon.

When she looked up at Castle, his facial expression reminded her of a kid in a candy store.

"Seriously, Kate, you just pulled a Xenia Onatopp? … I think that's the hottest thing I've ever seen…" He was practically drooling. "In my fantasy though, you're wearing a thigh holster and as you squeeze my ribs, I reach down and grab your Glock – "

"Castle," she scolded, "Can I get a little help please?"

"Yeah, sorry." He helped her stand up carefully and kept a firm hold around her waist while she hooked her left arm around his shoulders. She leaned quite heavily on him for support but knew that if it was necessary, she could move pretty quickly to ensure their safety.

He waggled his eyebrows at her. "That move is so going into the next book." He looked giddy just thinking about it.

She rolled her eyes and decided to make one of Richard Castle's dreams come true. "I'll only agree to it on one condition…" She grinned naughtily, "You have to buy me a thigh holster that's monogrammed with Nikki Heat."

He brought his left fist up to his mouth and bit his knuckles.

"If we get out of this alive, partner, I'm going to have an assortment of thigh holsters custom-made for you, … in a rainbow of colors." She couldn't contain her soft laugh as he typed in the key code to exit the room.


	13. Chapter 13

**Please review! They're as addicting as rewatching Rick maul Kate against his front door. ;) BEST FREAKin make-out session E-V-E-R!**

**XXXXX**

"Wait Rick," she said a little breathlessly and put her hand on his to stop him from entering the door code.

"Kate, we've got to get to the elevator… Katrina said we had to be there in 20 minutes and thanks to Doctor Demented over there," he swung his head over to Nico who was out cold on the bed, "we've only got -" he looked at his watch, "7 minutes now."

"I know." She looked a little shy, like she was struggling to find the right words to say to him. "I just can't let you leave this room without setting things straight." She cleared her throat quietly. "I need you to know something…" Her tawny eyes sparked with truth as she gazed into his baby blues. "What happened between us earlier was amazingly beautiful, … amazingly us, and so much more than I ever imagined."

_Jeez, why is it so difficult to tell him how I feel?_

She took a deep breath and said, "I want you to know, … that I plan on it happening again." She turned her body into his and reached up on her toes as delicately as possible, then leaned into his pouty mouth to nip at his upper lip… "And again," she leaned in and tugged on his lower lip, noticing the surprise in his eyes. "And again." She blinked at him coyly, ... then whispered his name, "Cas - - tle," before blowing warm air across his full lips and crashing her mouth into his.

God, he was dreaming. There was no other explanation. He was in a hell-hole with the love-of-his-life and she was kissing him senseless and torturing him with risqué lingerie… Her womanly curves clinging to his body like they were made for each other; her enticing legs positioned perfectly at the juncture of his thighs, while her long, thin fingers played dangerously with the waistband of his slacks.

She pulled back from his lips and purred into his ear, "I'm going to give you a little incentive to make it out of here alive," and her fingers grasped the zipper of his pants and pulled it down.

_Christ, I'm not dreaming_, he thought, as she reached inside, trickling her fingers over the silk boxers, luxuriating in the expensive material and then finally - firmly gripping his manhood.

Castle's head dropped back against the wall and he moaned, "Kaaate." Two seconds later he grasped her wrist and pulled her hand out of his pants.

"Elevator now!" he growled and punched in 4998. "You've got the gun?"

She patted his right jacket pocket. "Yes… I'm fired up and ready to go, Partner." By her sultry tone she was obviously insinuating she was fired up and ready for _**him.**_

"I'll just bet you are, … you beautiful vixen," he rasped out before opening the door and peeking around it to make sure the hallway was clear.

He breathed in heavily as Kate's left arm snuck around his shoulders once more for walking support. His right hand squeezed reassuringly at her hip when he opened the door completely and edged out into the hallway.

It was extremely quiet, … which unnerved him. He'd seen a couple of guards in the hallway when he'd first arrived, and they were no longer present. They were both quiet as he half-dragged her along the plush carpet.

_Thank God it's carpet instead of tile so our footsteps are muted._

Rick was anxious to get around the corner where he believed the elevator resided. He halted at the corner though and listened for any sound. After feeling like all was clear, he rounded the corner with Kate.

_Shit_, he thought frustrated, _this hallway doesn't look familiar_. It was in the shape of a 'T'. There was a set of swinging doors at the end of the hall and then it branched off in 2 directions.

They took about 10 steps when someone came through the swinging doors ahead of them.

Mr. Thornton looked surprised to see Kate draped over Rick's side, obviously being supported by him, … but it was the way he honed in on Rick's battered face and blood-spattered shirt that worried him.

"It looks like you might need a little help there with Angel Wings… You encounter a problem with her?" He spoke firmly even though his voice crackled with age.

"No, no problem." Rick said with a smile. "I'm doing just fine with her." The older man was making him nervous by his intense scrutiny.

Thornton chuckled before asking, "What the hell happened to your face, Alexander? … You couldn't control her?"

"Let's just say that Collins' description of her was accurate when he said that she came with a certain risk."

"Tell him the truth, Alexander." Kate spewed out the name 'Alexander' as if it were acid on her tongue. She looked directly at Thornton before sneering, "He got a little too frisky for my liking so I **punished** him."

Thornton guffawed, looking delighted by her answer. "By kicking him in the face?" He asked, practically drooling while waiting for her response.

"Yes, … as well as kicking him in another strategic place… Would you like a demonstration?"

"Well, well," he sounded impressed, "you truly are a spit-fire, aren't you Angel Wings?"

He pried his eyes away from Kate then to address Rick. "It looks to me though like you made some progress with her."

Rick looked at Kate critically… Her pretty, auburn hair was delightfully mussed, her cheeks were flushed, and there was no gloss or lipstick on her lips. She certainly looked like she'd just been 'spoiled'.

"Tell me, as I'm dying to know, …" Thornton continued, "How did she taste?"

Bile rose up in the back of Rick's throat. _Digusting man._

"I wouldn't say that I've had a taste of the lovely Ms. Beckett… It was more like a nibble." His grin and tone-of-voice implied that he was very excited to continue his nibbling, … and that it would happen again very soon.

Kate squeezed his shoulder reassuringly… His hand clenched over her protruding hipbone like he was staking a claim on her, … reassuring her that he was never going to let her go.

"Only a nibble?" Thornton asked surprised, "If I was your age, Mr. Rogers, I would've already tapped that fine piece of merchandise."

Castle was fed up with this old man and his sexual innuendos, but right now he could tell Kate was going to let loose on him so he whispered into her ear, hoping to elicit a smile from her, "Damn, Beckett, do you have any idea of the effect you have on men?"

It worked… She smiled, but she still seethed at Thornton, "If you were his age, I'd have already incapacitated your ass. You wouldn't be half the man you are today."

His eyebrows rose. "You may have to muzzle her. She's a feisty one... Are you sure you know how to handle her?" He looked doubtfully at Rick. "Do you need some instructions from a seasoned buyer?"

Rick chuckled. "I appreciate the offer, but you don't need to worry about me, Mr. Thornton... No instructions are necessary."

_Seriously, was this old man for real?_

Rick gave Kate a sexy leer. "I can certainly **handle **this feisty piece of merchandise all by myself." His lips brushed against her ear, "And I'm going to enjoy every single minute of it."

Knowing that Thornton was watching them intently, Rick let his tongue snake out and lick her outer earlobe sensuously.

Kate quickly flicked her head away from him as if she loathed his touch.

"Mmm, she tastes like whipped cream." And from the look on Thornton's face, Rick knew he was consumed with jealousy.

At this point, Rick propelled Kate forward as he'd had enough of Mr. Thornton and his growing obsession for her. He started walking down the hallway to casually pass him, but Thornton moved into their path.

"Have you spoken with Mr. Collins' concerning her purchase?" His dark brown eyes combed over the expanse of Kate's legs not covered by Rick's jacket.

"Yes." He replied while Kate's fingernails dug into his left shoulder due to her nerves. "He mentioned you offered $200,000.00 dollars for her."

"I did, and I was under the impression that Mr. Collins had agreed… I was told that she was being prepped and **pampered** for me."

The way he said 'pampered' completely disgusted him.

Rick looked at him speculatively, "Sorry there, old man." Mr. Thornton's eyes narrowed upon being called, 'old'. "You were misinformed… Mr. Collins accepted my $300,000.00 bid for Angel Wings here."

"Did he now?" He gazed thoughtfully at Beckett as the jacket swayed open to reveal a hint of her creamy breasts nestled in the bustier.

"Sorry that I can't take you at your word, Mr. Rogers. I'll have to verify that before you leave with her. - - Benson," he said to a figure lurking behind the swinging doors, "Go get Horatio for me."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Rick drawled, and surprisingly, Benson stopped to listen to what Rick had to say.

"There's one thing you should know about her, Mr. Thornton… Something that Collins purposefully withheld from you." Rick flashed him a cocky grin.

"Oh, really? And what might that be?" He asked with curiosity, not believing for a second that Rick had anything substantial to say,… believing only that he was trying to stall the inevitable.

"She's a police officer… A Detective from the New York City police department."

Thornton's voice rose an octave in disbelief, "She's a cop?" and then his grating laugh filled the hallway. "I wondered why Collins' described her as 'skilled in all manners of death.' - - So Horatio actually had the nerve to put a cop up for sale?"

"Detective," Kate corrected.

"Pardon me, I stand corrected." He bowed slightly to her, "And what an astounding Detective you are…" Kate didn't like the way he was backing towards the swinging doors.

"Tsk, Tsk," Thornton continued. "Horatio's really outdone himself this time." He signaled behind his back for Benson to leave and get Collins. "I should have suspected though," and his slimy smile made the hairs on Kate's arms stand on end... "How did I know that you'd be right at home with your hand wrapped around a **co** -," He coughed. "Excuse me, … wrapped around a **glock**?"

Kate had had enough of this old man's perverted comments, but it was Benson that concerned her right at the moment. She saw him turn away and worried over where he might be headed… She reached into Castle's jacket pocket and pulled out the hand gun. She formed the common, isosceles stance and pointed the gun in the direction of Benson.

"Benson, don't move from that spot." Kate cocked the gun…"Which way to the elevator?"

The gun didn't seem to faze Mr. Thornton in the least. Thornton grinned maniacally as if he was using his photographic-memory to take a picture of her in that exact same stance… A picture of the bad-ass, Detective Angel Wings, with the ballerina legs, holding a Smith and Wesson like it was a natural extension of her hand… A picture that he could pull out of his mind at any time for future pleasuring sessions.

"Now I certainly wish I hadn't given up on you so easily, Detective… You'll haunt my wet-dreams for years to come."

Rick scowled at the gross comment and almost followed Kate's earlier example by spitting in Thornton's face.

"The elevator?" He ground out with contempt.

"Turn left here… The hallway naturally curves and takes you straight to it." He spoke without any guile and Rick believed he was telling the truth.

"Come on," he encouraged her and they both picked up the pace to pass by Thornton. Kate lowered the gun, but kept it firmly gripped in her hand, down at her side, ready in a moment's notice, if need be, to raise it and shoot.

"Give my regards to Collins," Thornton spouted before swinging through the doors and heading out-of-sight.

"Dammit," Kate said, "I don't like this, Rick."

"It'll be alright." He placed a kiss on her worried forehead before escorting her to the left and down the corridor. "We have to trust Katrina. She'll make sure the elevator is clear."

Kate's heart soared as she realized Thornton was telling the truth. The elevator was directly in front of them. There was a large conference room on the right with open double doors that they had to pass by first. As they approached the doors, they heard a moan.

Rick paused, halting their progression.

_Oh_ - - _oh! _It wasn't just a moan… It was several deep guttural sounds coming from a man who was obviously enjoying himself. Castle motioned for her to quickly pass by the doors. Neither could help glancing in the room as they rushed by it.

Katrina was on her knees in front of a short man who was dressed in a security uniform. His hands were in her blond locks and encouraging her to move a certain way as he bucked into her mouth.

_God, we have got to save her_, Castle thought in anguish. Even though he was sickened by the sight, he was grateful beyond belief for her sacrifice.

They quickly moved inside the elevator where Kate tapped out the security code, 550612.

She turned into Rick's embrace. "God, Castle, we made it." She rasped out… _and then_, _then..._

Just as the elevator doors started to close, the power was cut to the building and they were submerged in complete darkness.

Kate shivered in his arms at the realization that they weren't going anywhere.


	14. Chapter 14

As thick darkness engulfed them in the elevator, Kate shivered in his arms.

"This is good news, Beckett," he whispered. "It means that Agent Danberg is here with back-up… They've obviously cut the power to the building."

Rick didn't voice his concerns to her though about the elevator being the only way to access the building. The CIA and NYC police only had the one option to enter the building.

They heard a loud, humming noise just before the runner lights flickered and fluttered on as the emergency generator kicked into gear.

"Are you talking about CIA Agent, Martin Danberg, who was Sophia's right hand man?"

At Castle's nod, she continued with a half smile, "You couldn't just trust the boys to handle this?"

"I trust the boys… I kept them in the loop… I just felt where your safety is concerned that I needed to go higher up the chain-of-command than Gates."

_God, that's just so - - sweet. It's just so - - Castle._

He grabbed her fingers and placed them over the bump on his forearm. "How cool is this?" Rick's expression looked like a kid who just scored the winning goal during a soccer game… He rubbed her fingers over the lump in his skin. "Danberg injected me with a tracking device so that they'd know where I am at all times."

She smiled at him humorously. "I should've known that you'd contact the CIA for help."

He chuckled lightly. "Yeah, it's pretty much a given with my - - ."

Rick suddenly stopped speaking as voices filtered down the hallway. He flattened his back against the wall of the elevator and smashed Kate to his chest so they were hidden behind the partially closed door. Neither made a sound.

His constant, strong, thumping heart beat made Kate feel safe and secure in his arms. She breathed in his unique, manly scent and thought again how lucky she was to have this wonderful, unselfish man in her life.

Katrina's voice carried through to them, "Tyler, we need to find someone in management to look into the power outage. Follow me."

"I need to get back to my post before Mr. Collins realizes I'm gone," a gruff voice replied.

They heard approaching footsteps. Kate turned in Rick's arms so she was facing away from him, ready with the gun to silence Tyler if necessary. Her ass curved deliciously into his frontside.

_Now is not the time to be thinking about her sculpted ass, _Rick scolded himself.

"I'm sure he'll understand when I tell him you were escorting me back to my office." Katrina continued. "You know that Horatio doesn't like me to wander unattended. Please come with me."

Tyler hesitated but ended up giving into Katrina's plea. "Sure, I'll go with you."

Kate heaved in a sigh of relief as the two trailed away from them. She had no desire to put Katrina in any type of danger, and having to draw on the security guard, might have put her in the crosshairs.

Rick's arms tightened about her and she leaned her head into the crook of his neck. "We're cornered in here, Castle. I don't think we should stay... It isn't safe."

"Let's try the code one more time and see if the generator has enough power to get us out of here." He kept his arm firmly around her waist and turned them both towards the key pad. Kate punched in the key code once more.

_Dammit. N_othing happened.

"Let's think about this for a minute." His fingers splayed intimately across her abs, stroking the firm muscles. "The CIA has got to realize soon that they can't access the building without the elevator, so they have to turn the power back on, right?"

"Yes."

"We can close the doors, possibly try barricading them so we have some sort of protection while we wait."

She sagged against him. "I don't know, Castle… There's nothing to barricade the doors with, and I'm feeling - - weak... I'm not sure how much help I'll be trying to assist you."

"Jesus, Kate, why didn't you tell me sooner that you're not feeling well? … You need to sit down."

He carefully placed her back against the elevator wall and helped her to descend to a sitting position right beneath the control panel. A small smile graced her lips as she was finally able to rest her feet. Even in the dim lighting though, he could see the perspiration on her upper lip due to the immense pain she was experiencing.

"You've got to let me know how you're doing," he whispered with deep concern.

"I'm okay." She reached out her hand to grab his, trying to reassure him… She swirled her thumb in a circular pattern over the back of his hand… Her eyes then fluttered closed, causing his heart to ache with worry.

"We've got to get you some medical attention."

"Demerol or Oxy sounds heavenly right now, but I'd settle instead for a granola bar or peanuts." She glanced at him beneath hooded lashes, "Do you by chance have any snacks?"

Rick knew she was teasing him, but it frayed his nerves even further knowing she was starving.

He shook his head sideways. "I've got to get you out of here."

His concern for her was practically tangible. It brought tears to her eyes.

He rubbed a hand over the stubble covering his cheeks as if deep in thought. A brilliant idea suddenly struck him and he said excitedly, "I've got an idea… It will be a little difficult to pull off, but for my piece of mind, I need you to consider it, okay?"

"What are you thinking?" Kate prepared herself to hear an outlandish idea fly out of his mouth.

"I need to know that you're 100% safe, ... so I'm going to hoist you through the access panel so you can hide on top of the box. You can lay down up there as well and rest."

Her genuine smile gave him hope. "You watch too many action movies, Castle… That's a no go. I'm not leaving your side."

"Beckett," he got down on his haunches and looked into her tired eyes, "I need you to consider this… It would be a huge weight off my shoulders knowing you're hidden from Collins." He winked at her teasingly. "I'll even haul my ass up there as well if you feel like you can't live a single minute without my handsome mug."

His tone of voice nearly had her agreeing to his plan, but there was no way she was leaving him to face Collins alone.

"I know what you're trying to do." She said rolling her eyes with just a hint of exasperation. "There's no way you'll be able to haul yourself up on your own once I'm up there." She reached out a hand to his shirt collar to adjust it back into place. Then her long fingers ran down the column of his throat. "And we both know, Partner, that I'm a better aim with a gun than you… I'm not going up there without you... Think of something el - "

A loud ping echoed throughout the elevator as a bullet whizzed past Castle's right shoulder and struck the back, stainless-steel panel of the wall.

Rick jumped. _That was close. Too close._

Mr. Collin's voice boomed down the hallway. "That was a warning shot, Mr. Rogers."

_I hate the man, _Rick thought aggravated. He looked desperately into Kate's hazel gaze and brushed his hand over her cheekbone before standing up and placing his back against the east wall of the elevator, parallel to her.

"Collins," Kate yelled authoritatively, "You do not want the death of a Detective on your hands."

He laughed menacingly. "We both know there's already blood on my hands for that exact reason… I'm already going to be sentenced to life-in-prison... One more cop's death won't matter to a Judge."

Kate signaled her plan to Rick… She was going to roll left onto her stomach and have a clear shot at Collins through the open space between the doors.

"You may leave, Mr. Rogers," Collins continued. "I promise you safe passage out of this building, but not with Detective Beckett. She stays with me."

By the location of his voice, Kate knew that Collins was walking towards them. He was getting closer.

"That's not an option for me." Rick bellowed. "I'm not leaving without her." He gazed at her with a twinkle in his eye. "She's grown on me now and I'm craving her Angel Wings."

_Seriously Castle?_ _You're teasing me in a life-and-death situation?_ She smirked. _God, I adore this man._

"So be it." Collins snapped his fingers… Tyler moved cautiously forward with his gun drawn. Rick signaled to Kate that there were two men approaching them.

She took a breath and cleared her head of everything except the task at hand. - - _I'm Detective Kate Beckett… I'm not the victim of a madman... I'm a strong, confident police officer who knows without question how to take down a suspect._

She scooted forward a couple of inches away from the elevator wall and then rolled quickly to the left, … stopping on her stomach. Her left elbow supported her arched back, while her right elbow rested on her left hand… The gun was braced securely in her right hand. Her eyes locked firmly on Tyler who approached stealthily.

Kate didn't dally.

When Tyler lowered his weapon to point it directly at her, she took two shots, … both which hit him squarely in the chest… He toppled to the floor, maroon liquid oozing from the wounds… It looked like a can of brick-red paint had spilled onto the carpet and permanently stained the fibers.

Kate stayed in the spot; her eyes and gun never wavering as she said urgently to Rick, "He's got Katrina hostage."

"Nice move, Detective." Collins voice was edgy, tinged with bitterness. "Tyler will be missed… Now throw the gun out or I kill Katrina."

"I've got this," Rick whispered, and he stepped next to her in the open space of the elevator with his hands raised high.

Kate's gut clenched in complete fear knowing Rick was putting his life in jeopardy.

"Horatio, I'm unarmed." Castle made sure that he wasn't completely exposed to Collins view, by hiding most of his body behind the door. His right foot touched Kate's hip. "We both know that she's too important to you to dispose of her."

Collins had Katrina gripped roughly by her waist,… a handgun positioned at her temple. Fear radiated from her blue eyes.

"She's invaluable to you… I would guess that you acquired her as a teenager and have trained her for several years to be an impeccable assistant."

Kate knew from the glance Katrina threw Collins that Castle had hit close to the mark.

"Yes, I would sorely regret losing her," Collins said sincerely, "But anyone can be replaced… Especially in my business… Throw your gun towards me, Detective, - - NOW."

"You know I can't do that," Kate said firmly. "You toss your gun towards Alex and I promise to spare your life."

Katrina turned to Collins. "Please don't do this, Horatio. I've always been loyal to you."

He sneered at her. "Don't speak. I know that you tried to help Eden Grey… You deserve to be punished for your betrayal." He exerted more pressure on the gun, pushing the silencer into her scalp to inflict pain. "Did you also try to help Detective Beckett?"

"No," Katrina whispered, obviously frightened.

Castle jumped into the conversation. "No, it wasn't Katrina who tried to help Detective Beckett… It was I."

Collins stared intently at him, wondering if he was telling the truth. Rick's foot edged closer to Kate, poking her, signaling her to be ready.

"It was you? … A greedy womanizer with a holier-than-thou attitude?" Collins chuckled. "You don't have the brains to pull something like this together."

Rick grinned cockily. "I'd like to introduce myself… I'm Richard Castle, a renowned author who also happens to be shadowing Detective Beckett."

Anger consumed Collins. His neck flushed. His mustache twitched. His hand at Katrina's waist fidgeted.

It clicked in Kate's mind what Castle was planning. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she prepared to fire her weapon. Timing was absolutely critical. It was crucial to their success.

"With all your endeavors to keep this business secure and hidden from your enemies, Collins, you made one vital mistake. - - " Rick paused for effect. "You kidnapped the one person I'd move heaven and earth to find."

Collins eyes lit up with understanding. "Now I understand." His sly grin unsettled Kate. "I knew you were just a little too eager to purchase her, - - Mr. Castle, is it?" He scrutinized Kate first before gazing at Rick. "And by your reaction to her, I'd guess you two have never been - - **intimate**."

Rick tensed and his facial expression confirmed to Collins that he'd hit the nail on the head.

_Where the hell is he going with this? _She thought worriedly.

"Ahhh, I see now." He laughed cynically. "Katherine, you obviously didn't tell him that I **fuck** every girl first before she goes up for auction."

_Christ! _Kate knew it was a filthy lie to goad Rick into doing something stupid and from the loud hiss he emitted, she knew Collins had succeeded.

_Damn the man._

"Don't move, Castle," she said with malice dripping from her tone. "He's lying."

"Katrina can confirm it for me… Can't you, dear?" He yanked her forcefully next to him.

Kate's mind was whirling. Yes, she'd been drugged and was out-cold when they'd taken her from her apartment… When she woke up, she was already dressed in the lingerie with her feet and hands bound to the steel table where Nico did his dirty work.

_Could it be true? Did Collins rape me while I was unconscious? I would know if it happened, right? I'd be able to sense if anyone violated me... Ohhh dear God._

Katrina's eyes nervously darted back and forth between Rick and Kate. She timidly replied, "He normally does sample the girls, but I'm unsure –" Collins lifted the gun and whacked Katrina across the face … Her yelp sounded like a wounded puppy, but it was all the distraction Kate needed.

She pulled the trigger and the last bullet in the Smith and Wesson hit Collins in the forehead, killing him instantly.


	15. Chapter 15

**(Thanks to Renegade05 for the porn star reference)**

**XXXXX**

Kate refused to go to the hospital. She insisted on Lanie checking her out, and then heading straight home to get some much needed food and sleep.

"Kate, I know how you feel, but I'm recommending you go to the hospital for your feet. Plus, you need your blood drawn to make sure you were actually injected with antibiotics instead of some other harmful drug," Lanie said, trying to persuade her to go to the hospital.

Kate nibbled slowly on some trail mix that the boys had had in the glove compartment of their car. "Lanie," she glanced over at Castle who was laughing it up with the boys, … regaling his version of the evening with his captivating, writer- flair and making it seem like it was a picnic in the park compared to the hell they went through.

"If I go to the hospital they'll order a rape kit and I - - just can't do that to Castle."

"God, honey." She put her arms around Kate and hugged her. "Are you sure then?"

"No. I'm not sure, but I'd rather not know than face the possible alternative." She took a sip of juice before continuing. "I can handle the answer, Lanie… Honestly, I can, but - -" she looked over at Rick, "I don't think he'll be able to."

"Castle?" Lanie looked at her curiously. "That man can handle anything where you're concerned… He dotes on you, hangs on your every word… I've never seen a man so devoted to a woman before… If that ain't love, then I don't know what is..."

"Detective," Gates harsh voice interrupted them. "You have a date with an ambulance."

"I'm fine, Sir… I don't need to go to the hospital."

"It's standard protocol, plus the CIA wants to get your statement tonight concerning Collins so they're sending an agent to ride over with you."

"Really, - all I need is some comfort food and my warm bed and I'll be – "

"Detective Beckett, if you still want your badge in the morning, you'll get in the ambulance immediately."

_Damn_. "Yes, Sir."

"I'm also sending Castle to the hospital as it looks like his nose may be broken, and he's favoring his left side… The boys will bring him in."

"I'll have the EMTs bring a gurney for you." Lanie said before walking towards the ambulance crew.

Just as Gates turned away from her, Kate felt prompted to say something... "Thanks Captain, - - for making sure that the tape doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

She nodded at her. "Anything for my team."

**…..**

Espo's grin was contagious.** "**Castle described Collins as a Burt Reynolds wanna be who in actuality was more like an 80's porn star." His eyes lit with humor as he spoke with Kate.

"And what about his description of the old geezer, Thornton?" Ryan chuckled. "A nasty old man who must be related to Hugh Heffner?"

Kate smiled. "I certainly wouldn't be surprised to learn that Thornton parties at the Playboy mansion."

Castle entered Kate's hospital room with his hands full, … a bouquet of white lilies and pink roses in one hand, and in the other, a prescription bag from the hospital pharmacy.

"Are my ears burning?"

_Ohhh my,_ he looked positively yummy wearing a navy blue, Nike T-shirt that highlighted his bulky arms, and the faded Levi jeans clung to his lower half in all the right places.

_He looks too hot for his own good,_ Kate thought while chewing on the inside of her cheek. He'd obviously just showered as his hair was still damp and slightly in disarray.

"Yo bro, … You trying to make Ryan and I look bad by bringing flowers to our boss?"

"No," he smirked. "I'm trying to make myself look good by bringing flowers to my muse."

"Cas - tle," she warned, but her grin said she was thankful for the beautiful gesture.

"So when are you getting discharged?" Ryan asked.

"Hopefully within the hour… Doctor Rasmussen said he's waiting for one more test result to come in before officially releasing me."

"Only one more? Psych should come in and evaluate why you let writer-monkey here continue to follow you day in and day out," Espo joked.

"Yeah Beckett," Ryan agreed. "Aren't you sick and tired of him by now saving your ass?"

She grinned coyly at Castle. "I might have officially reached my breaking point with his 'Alexander Rogers' charade."

Castle's bottom lip turned down into a pout. Kate wanted to grab that lip with her teeth and never let go.

"But, - - " she somehow had the strength to drag her eyes away from that alluring bottom lip of his to say, "I think I'll keep him around, boys, for a little bit longer."

Castle's expression turned hopeful until she dashed it by saying, "I've determined that I can't live without my daily dose of vanilla late."

The boys laughed and she continued, "Plus, one day soon, I'm betting that a clever alien theory or CIA conspiracy will actually be accurate concerning one of our cases."

"Yeah, yeah," Castle said jovially, "Just wait and see, Detective Beckett. In the near future, you're going to be eating crow… And I hope I'm around to see it."

She caught his blue gaze and said sincerely, "I hope so too," and the air was suddenly filled with crackling electricity as she got lost in his mesmerizing blue eyes.

_How in the world can she still look sexy in a frumpy, checkered hospital gown? God, she's even more beautiful without a stitch of make-up on and her hair haphazardly thrown back into a bun._

"Ahem." Ryan cleared his throat. "It looks like Mom and Dad need some alone time, Javi."

"Really?" Kate squeaked, looking flabber-gasted. "Mom and Dad?"

Ryan's grin split his face. "Don't you know by now that everybody at the precinct refers to you two that way?"

"Tsk. Tsk." Espo chimed in, "And you call yourself a Detective?"

Kate had to stop herself from rolling her eyes when Castle chuckled.

"We don't want to see you, Boss, for another 3 days… Gates told us that you're on a forced leave-of-absence."

"Yeah, Beckett. Don't you dare set foot in the precinct until Tuesday. I'll personally haul your ass out of the building if you do." Espo said just before turning and heading out of the room.

"I'm glad you're okay," Ryan said to Kate before leaving. "And thanks again, Castle, for being there for her when we couldn't be."

"That's what partners are for," he replied, nodding to Ryan on his way out.

As soon as the boys left the room, Kate reached out her hand towards him. He put the flowers and prescription bag down on the side table, grabbed her hand and sat down beside her on the bed.

"How are you feeling?" He raised her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across the back of it. A tingle shot up her arm.

_God, how this man affects me._

"Better, … now that you're here."

"I came to see you last night after the E.R. Doc checked me over, but you were sound asleep. I stayed with you for about 30 minutes until Nurse Cratchet kicked me out." Castle grumbled, "And you'd think with all the money I've donated to this hospital that they could break a rule or two and allow me to stay the night with you."

"Oh, - I'm glad they didn't," she said demurely. "When I spend the night with you, Mr. Richard Castle," her hands reached out and grabbed his Nike T-shirt, "for the first time," she tugged him towards her, "I plan on being **100% awake**."

Her lips opened onto his. He moaned into her mouth as her lips took control of the kiss, moving erotically over his… Her hands reached up and found his wet hair, tugging on the strands intimately and massaging his scalp beneath her nimble fingers. Kate's tongue seared its way into his mouth, - hot, hungry, insatiable as she tangled it with his own. She angled her body closer to him and sighed as his right hand delved under the covers and found the hem of her hospital gown. He teasingly stroked just beneath the hem of the gown, up and down lightly along her thigh.

"I never would have thought that a hospital gown could be enticing," he said hotly against her lips, "But with you in one, Detective, it's one of the sexiest garments I've ever seen."

His lips probed hers once more and his hand became bolder, inching its way further up her inner thigh… He was dying to know whether or not she was actually nude beneath the white and blue checkered gown.

They both jerked apart from each another upon hearing, "Well, it's about damn time." Lanie's amusement was clearly evident in the tone of her voice.

Castle turned to Lanie with surprised eyes.

"What took you guys so long?"

"Umm," Castle looked at Kate like a drowning man searching for a life preserver. He was speechless.

He was just so dang cute looking all embarrassed that Lanie couldn't stop herself from continuing, "Please tell me that you two haven't done the deed yet."

"Laaaniee," Kate drawled, and with her, 'I'm going to kill you' expression, she knew that their relationship hadn't progressed that far.

"Yes!" she clapped gleefully. "All my money's on you two hooking up the week of Valentine's Day, so can I convince you to wait another few weeks?"

"**No!"** rang out simultaneously through the room. Lanie laughed obnoxiously at their response.

Kate knew that the 'I-told-you-so,' and 'I-need-every-freakin-detail-right-now,' speech was coming up…

"Castle out!" Lanie demanded, "I need to speak to my girl here."

Castle mumbled something like, "Some friend you are," before reluctantly getting up from the bed and traipsing out of the room. He looked back at Kate with an, 'I'm sorry to leave you with the Big Bad Wolf,' expression before closing the hospital door behind him.

"Spill and don't leave anything out."

"Lanie, there's not much to tell."

She crossed her arms and lifted her eyebrows in disbelief.

Kate shrugged trying to act nonchalant. "Castle and I got closer last night than we ever have before."

"Uh-huh, that was obvious with the way you had your tongue stuck down his throat. . . Details, Kate."

She fidgeted with the light blanket on her lap. "He was amazing last night."

"I can only imagine," she said teasingly, her eyes bright in anticipation waiting for Kate to divulge more information.

Kate chuckled. "He's definitely inherited some of Martha's acting genes… He was thrilling as Alexander Rogers, - confident, secure, sexy, - even though he was out of his element dealing with a psychopath like Collins."

"He was sexy, huh?"

"It was more than that, Lanie… I saw a side of him that I've rarely seen before… He was completely unselfish, - - willing to sacrifice anything for my safety. He wasn't just Rick Castle, - the arrogant, famous writer who shadows me for a story." She swallowed before continuing. "He was so much more… I made a connection with him last night that goes beyond a working relationship. I made a connection with him as – -" She blushed, remembering how it felt to have him treasure her body.

"As a woman, Kate?" Lanie asked hopefully.

"Yes," she replied softly, "I can't believe it's taken almost 4 years to finally admit to myself that everything I've ever wanted in a man has been standing right in front of me all along."

"Hallelujah! Will wonders never cease?" Lanie's smile couldn't get any wider. "I'm so happy for you both, Kate." She hugged her tightly. "And I expect full disclosure after you get some of writer-boy."

Kate playfully smacked her. "I don't even know yet what's happening between us… Castle and I need some time to ourselves for a while, to figure things out. Can you please keep this quiet for now?"

"Of course, hun… Mums the word. You can trust me."

Dr. Rasmussen walked into the room. "I've got your test results, Detective Beckett."

"Do you want me to leave?" Lanie asked.

"No," she said grateful for her presence. "This is my dear friend, Lanie Parish. She's the M.E. for our division."

Rasmussen and Lanie shook hands. "It's nice to meet you."

"Well, I have some great news and other news that's a bit disconcerting." He looked at her with kind, understanding eyes.

"The rape kit came back negative."

Kate heaved in a deep sigh of relief.

"But," he continued seriously, "there are some signs of other molestation." Lanie grabbed her hand. "Bruises on your upper thighs, finger print marks on your ribs, a bite mark on the back of your neck. We found 2 hickeys as well, … one above your right knee on your inner thigh, and another one on the lower, lateral side of your right breast."

Kate knew that Rick was only responsible for one of the hickies, which meant that Collins had definitely fondled her. _I'm glad I put the bastard down._

Lanie squeezed her hand. "And your positive, Doctor Rasmussen, that there was no penetration?" Lanie asked to reassure them both.

"Positive… You're one lucky woman, Detective Beckett… My guess is that he was interrupted... We'd like you to come back in 36 hours when the bruises are fully noticeable. We'll have the forensic team take pictures of the injuries then for evidence."

"Thank you." Kate looked pensive. "Can I be discharged now?"

"Yes, I'll send the nurse right in with the paperwork."

"Lanie, please go get Castle."


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to Eyrianone for inspiring this chapter. This chapter's dedicated to jennysimonekate & belacou.**

**XXXXX**

"I'm so happy to be heading home." Kate said with a smile, leaning back into the comfortable leather seat of Castle's Ferrari.

"I'm so happy that you're safe and Dr. Demented didn't do any permanent damage to your feet." His voice dropped an octave, teasingly… "I'd have been heartbroken if you couldn't wear those smokin', knee-high, black, leather boots with the 5 inch killer heels."

"So you like my stripper boots, huh?"

His mouth dropped open in shock and he panted, "Stripper boots?"

"You're too easy, Castle," she laughed. "But I'll think about wearing them and putting on a show for you - - on one condition."

"A show?" his voice came out strangled. _Ohhh sweet Jesus_, _that's number 4 on my fantasy list with Kate_ _Beckett_… "Anything, I'll do anything," and the car swerved slightly off the road as his imagination got away from him.

"**Any – thing**? … Really? … That's a risky word there, Mr Richard Castle… How about if I asked you to stop writing the Nikki Heat series?"

His answer was immediate, "Yes, I'll stop writing them today as long as I'm still allowed to shadow you… Next one." His grin said that he was going to thoroughly enjoy this little game of hers.

"How about if I asked you to shave that handsome-head-of-hair and – "

"I'd pull into a barbershop right now…" He interrupted her. "There's one just around the corner on 48th… I can be there in 5 minutes flat."

"AND, you didn't let me finish Castle… Besides getting your head shaved, I'd also ask you to shave other - strategic parts of your body as well." She bit her lower lip as she imagined seeing a nude, stunning, hair-free, Castle standing gloriously in front of her.

_Oh,_that sent his mind reeling back to wondering if Kate waxed on a regular basis or if the scum-bag Collins actually had ordered it for her private area. He licked his suddenly dry lips and then grinned engagingly at her.

"I'd call my mother and ask her recommendation on which luxurious spa to book."

"What if I asked you to - " she paused to heighten the tension in the car, loving that she could so easily get under his skin, "get a matching Angel Wings tattoo?" She smiled seductively and it sent his heart into overdrive.

_Damn,_ now he was thinking about that strategically-placed, sexy tattoo. He was determined to get his teeth on one of those wings.

"Castle," she snapped her fingers in front of his face. His thoughts drifted back to the road instead of solely on the tempting woman at his side.

"I'd tell you to set up the appointment at any tattoo parlor of your choice."

"Hmm… Why don't I believe you?" She smirked, eyeing him appreciatively.

He chuckled. "Just say the word, Kate, and I'll prove it."

"Well then, - pull off the side of this road right here, right now, and fulfill one of my own fantasies, - -" she took her index finger and drug it up along his muscular thigh, stopping just before she touched his crotch, "by taking me in this hot, red, fast car."

_What the - - ? Did I actually just hear that?_

Castle's foot was on the brakes before he even consciously realized he was doing it. He jerked the wheel towards a parking garage and up the ramp they went.

Kate's siren laughter filled his ears. "Wo-ah writer-boy, I believe you."

"Writer-man," he growled, "and I'm going to prove it to you **very** soon."

"Get the ferrari back on the road, Castle, and take me home… I want you to **prove** it to me in my own, comfortable bed."

"Hell, Kate," and his mouth landed on her collar bone for a quick taste before he glanced over his shoulder and quickly reversed the car back down the ramp.

She couldn't resist saying, "I'm going to have to ticket you, Sir, for that illegal move."

He certainly didn't disappoint her with his witty response. "I have many more illegal moves that I can show you, Detective… You can ticket me anytime, anywhere you want," and his devilish tone shot an arrow of desire straight to her core.

…**..**

The rest of the drive was a blur to Castle. He wouldn't have been able to tell you how fast he was going, what streets he took, or how long it took to get there. All he knew was that Kate was next to him, teasing him mercilessly with her roving left hand and those gorgeous cat-like eyes. He couldn't recall how he got her inside her apartment lobby and into the elevator.

She pushed the button for her floor. The minute the elevator doors shut, she reached for him. "Ri - ck," she sighed breathily but he caught her hands and spun her around, her back against his chest.

"Not yet, Kate," he said huskily in her ear. "Not here, or I won't be able to stop." His member was strained to the hilt against the front of his jeans and any encouragement from her was going to be his undoing. "I need to get you into your bedroom." He held her hands tightly, doubting he could take it if she so much as touched him.

She pressed back and rubbed her just-out-of-sight-curvaceous-ass teasingly against him.

_Son of a bitch._Castle growled low in his throat. He thought about hitting the emergency stop button, pulling down the black NYPD logo sweats she was wearing, and taking her right there in the elevator. And as much as he throbbed at the wanton image of her bending over for him, bracing herself against the wall and moaning his name as he took her from behind, … that was not the way things were going to happen for their first time together.

He bent his head and kissed the base of her throat, not trusting himself to get any closer to her mouth. He could feel her quick pulse underneath his lips. "I need you to agree to something first, Kate," and his nose poked into her upswept hair to breathe in the faint hint of cherries that was uniquely her. "I've got to be in charge right now… Another time, - - your sassy, controlling Detective side can come out to play, but for our first time together, … I'll never last if you don't let me take control."

With a sly smile, she closed her eyes, tilting her neck to give him better access. "Sorry, I can't promise that, Partner…"

The elevator dinged, indicating they had arrived at her floor. The doors sprang open and he smacked her lightly on the ass to punish her for not agreeing to his terms. She flashed him an eager grin over her shoulder as she pulled out the keys to her front door.

Kate's whole body tingled with anticipation. Rick had barely touched her, and she was already completely turned-on. She was pretty shocked with how wanton she felt and chalked it up to years of unresolved sexual tension, … that and Rick's overwhelming obsession blew her away in a whirlwind of lust. The man was practically oozing desire.

_God, it's finally going to happen._

She unlocked her front door and walked through her spacious apartment directly to her bedroom… She didn't dare sneak a glance at him or she would succumb to his need and they'd end up on her couch instead of in her soft, comfy bed. She opened the door for him and watched his face intently as he surveyed her room.

Kate's bedroom was very similar to how he imagined it; pale colors throughout with a large, queen-size, iron head and footboard that dominated the room. The iron frame had beautiful, detailed, elegant scroll work that was extremely feminine, … extremely her. He registered briefly the matching end table and dresser made of oak with the same iron, decorative-scroll design edged into the wood. He noticed her jewelry box on the dresser and a small safe on the floor next to her end table, presumably where she kept her gun at night.

She turned to face him when she felt he'd had ample time to take in her room… _If he doesn't kiss me soon I just might suffocate from all the sexual tension in the air._

She expected him to pounce and throw her on the bed. But he didn't. He stood staring at her with such love in his eyes that it almost broke her.

Drowning – that's what he was doing. He was drowning in the eyes of Kate Beckett. He ached for the taste of her, the sweet fragrance of her hair, and the lushness of her curves.

"Castle," she whispered when she couldn't take his silence any longer, "kiss me."

His gaze dropped to her lips, which were delectably moist. He knew her mouth would be his undoing, so he didn't immediately comply with her wish.

He locked eyes with hers and never wavered as he pulled the brown leather jacket off his shoulders. He threw it onto the safe. He took 2 steps towards her, never breaking eye contact. He reached behind her head and fiddled with the hair band to release her bun. He watched mesmerized as her long tresses fell down to cascade over her shoulders, … wild, wavy curls that matched the wild look in her green eyes.

"Kate, you're so extraordinarily beautiful."

He buried a hand in her hair, pulling her to him. She leaned into him, offering her lips so sweetly, so willingly that his lust burst into flames.

With every ounce of desire that burned through Rick's body, he kissed her sensuous lips, devouring her sweetness. She tasted of cinnamon toast and vanilla coffee, - her taste driving his need further to explore every inch of her creamy, satiny skin.

Kate didn't hesitate, returning Rick's passion in equal measure, giving as good as she got... Her lips pressed fervently against his, over and over again until she felt like they would bruise from the contact… Her tongue battled with his… Her soft moans drowned in the depths of the back of his throat.

He sank his hands deeper into her hair and tasted the smoothness of her cheek as he feathered sensual kisses over her face, her eyes, her creamy neck, making her gasp in pleasure.

He reached for the zipper on the NYPD jacket she was wearing and he zipped it down to reveal a pale-yellow camisole with spaghetti straps. His eyes didn't drop to her chest until after he'd completely removed her jacket and thrown it onto his. He literally stopped breathing when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra.

The back of his fingers traced the ridge of her camisole top while he took deep breaths trying to control his libido. His member jerked in response to his fingers lightly cascading over the plump mounds.

Kate's eyes noticeably darkened and her breathing became fast and shallow from his feather caresses.

She had the smokiest look on her face as her tongue snaked out and licked her lips. She was aching to get her hands on him, so she reached out and grabbed the bottom of his Nike T-shirt and pulled it slowly up and over his head, making sure her hands scraped the side of his ribs along the way.

She backed slightly away from him, taking her time, savoring the sight of his bare chest. The hard muscles… the tight abs… the light scattering of brown hair on his chest… She wanted to feel every inch of him.

"I can't believe how badly I wanted to touch you when my hands were tied," she said breathily. Her hands landed on his firm pecs and began exploring the feel of his muscles beneath her fingertips. She relished being able to touch his masculine skin. His abs twitched when she finally lowered her hands beneath his belly button.

"And my lips wanted to do this - -" She leaned into him and placed her mouth on his chest, near his nipple, and trailed open-mouthed kisses across the breadth of his chest. He groaned as her lips finally found his nipple… The sweet sensation of her wet mouth suckling him caused his hands to grip her waist firmly. When her lips pulled away from his chest, he tugged on her so she was nestled between his thighs, able to feel his straining erection.

He whispered huskily in her ear, "I've never wanted a woman like this before, Kate." His lips found the sweet spot behind her ear and he teased the sensitive skin until she shivered. "I want you to know that I'll never be with another woman again."

"Castle," she swallowed and couldn't find her voice as the truth of his words sunk deep into her heart. _God, this man and his words_. _He truly holds the key to my heart_.

He guided her backward, and when the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed she layed back, resting her elbows on the mattress. She lifted her hips eagerly and begged, "Take off my sweat pants."

He looked hungry as his hands took the elastic band of her pants and pulled them down over her rounded ass and lean legs to her ankles. He was careful removing them from around the bandages on her feet.

He gazed in awe at the matching yellow, lace bikini panties… "I've always wondered what you wore beneath those infuriating skinny jeans."

She grinned naughtily. "Disappointed after the leather thong?"

"Au contraire, my dear Detective, they are absolutely perfect."

She watched as Rick undid his belt buckle, then the button on his jeans.

His eyes feasted on the sight of her lying on the lavender bedspread, looking like a scrumptious siren, beckoning him to take her and make her his.

His pants pooled at his ankles and he stepped out of them, leaving him in just his royal blue boxers.

Moisture seeped between her thighs upon seeing his tented boxers and realizing just how large of a man he was… _Fuck._

He picked up her left leg and his mouth started at her knee and slowly made the opposite journey, up her thigh, along her hip… Kate's abdomen clenched as he paused at the top of her underwear to nibble at her panty line.

Her hips thrust upwards as his tongue found her tempting belly button.

"God, Kate, you're exquisite," he whispered before pushing up the yellow cami and proceeding to place kisses along her stomach, then ascending to the V between her breasts, and finally feasting upon her bullet scar.

Kate felt like he was worshipping her with his mouth, ... slowly devouring her with every press of his lips, every lick of his tongue, ... driving her crazy with desire at his meticulous research of her body.

He pulled away from her and his heated gaze landed on the pulsing vein in her neck. She angled her neck to allow him easy access and he took full advantage of the opportunity by proceeding to suckle and bite the tender flesh, marking her as his.

Hot desire ran through Castle's veins like burning oil. The smoothness of her skin, the delicate hollow of her neck, her cherry-scented, silken hair, ... all lured him until he could no more quit touching her, tasting her, than he could think. She was quickly becoming an addicting drug that he couldn't resist any longer.

Kate was lost, … spiraling in a world of pleasure. Threading her hands through his thick hair, she ran her tongue over his smooth jaw, reveling in the musky taste of his clean-shaven skin. She wanted him, needed him NOW.

"Cast - le," fell off her lips like a heated caress. Her hands roved over his defined back muscles, kneading the flesh intimately. "Take me, - NOW," and the most lovely, sexy whimper escaped her lips, … sending him to the brink.

_How long have I been waiting to hear those words out of her mouth? Too God-damn long._

With eager fingers he pulled the camisole up and over her head and then greedily removed her wet panties.

He couldn't help himself. He stared openly.

He gazed at every curve on her body, - her small, pert breasts, the sleek, delicate indentation of her waist, the defined 6-pack abs, the fullness of her curvaceous hips, her long ballerina gams and last of all, his gaze settled on her completely bare pelvis that glistened in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the blinds.

_There's no way in hell that I'm ever going to last._

He grudgingly tore his gaze away from her stunning body to fish the condom out of his back jeans pocket.

Kate watched him with bated breath as he quickly removed his boxers and sheathed himself. _Ohhh my God, he's all delicious man._

She trembled with unfulfilled need as he climbed between her legs, looking at her with such ferocity in his gaze that under any other circumstance, she might have been frightened, … but knowing it was because of the intensity of his passion, it heightened her sexual awareness even more.

His hands entwined with hers above her head. She opened her legs fully for him and nibbled on her bottom lip as his gaze intensified. His eyes were dark, midnight-blue pools of lust.

_Shit, I'm going to hurt her,_ he thought, but his body screamed for release and he couldn't stop himself any longer from savagely taking her.

With one sure, swift flick of his hips, he impaled her.

Kate's eyes flew open wide and she audibly gasped; her nails dug into his hands from the strength of her grip.

"Fuck!" Her eyelids fluttered and she wriggled her hips, trying to adjust to his size.

She needed to taste him… She needed to inflict some glorious pain of her own, so she lifted her neck and grabbed his lower lip with her teeth… She bit it roughly, drawing blood.

He emitted a deep, guttural moan and began moving inside her, stroking her with his rigid member.

He could tell from her gasps of pleasure and the clutching insistence of her hands that she was as lost as he was. _Sweet Jesus,_ they were both drowning in wild, untamed passion.

Castle wanted to take his time, to slowly initiate her in the pleasures of his lovemaking, but the demands of his body were just too much. His body was tense… He was in distress with the effort it took to control his passion.

Kate whimpered again as he stroked into her… He murmured into her ear sweet nothings while he lost himself in her wet warmth.

Again and again he thrust into her, … each stroke an agonizing, delicious exhilaration.

Kate ripped her hands out of his to grasp his buttocks, needing to feel his strong ass beneath her fingers as the rolling waves of desire crescended higher and higher.

Her breathing was jagged, a hint of perspiration covered her brow as she drew imminently closer to climaxing.

Castle paused, … taking in the sight of her on the precipice of falling into oblivion. Her face was flushed, her eyes closed, her dark lashes framed her face like butterfly wings, and her lips were parted and swollen. She was the most beautiful, captivating woman he'd ever seen, and she was all his.

Just as she screamed his name in ecstasy, his mouth covered hers, capturing his name on her swollen lips… A surge of passion pulsed through him and carried him to his own release. He ground out, "Kate," before spilling his seed deep inside her.

**...**

Afterwards, Rick's breathing was loud in the silence of her room. He pulled her to him and wrapped her in his arms, thinking how perfectly made they were for each other, how perfectly they fit together.

She snuggled into his arms, her cheek against his shoulder as her breathing slowly returned to normal.

"Promise me something," Kate said softly, completely bone-less due to their incredible lovemaking... Her fingers splayed in his chest hair.

"Mmm," he murmured, "you already know the answer to that," and he dropped a possessive kiss into her auburn hair.

She grinned suggestively up at him, her hazel eyes twinkling in delight. "Promise me that we're not going to wait another 3 and a half years before doing this again."

His sexy grin spoke volumes. "Just give me 20 minutes and I'll prove to you that I can keep that promise."


	17. Chapter 17 Epilogue

**Epilogue: Kate's Savior (definitely rated M ;)**

Kate woke up to a sprinkling of light shining through Castle's blinds. She blinked rapidly to gain her bearings and smiled softly at the sight before her… Rick was sound asleep, faced towards her on his side, with his head lying on his right arm. He looked so young, so peaceful in sleep. His sandy hair was tousled and flopped over his forehead adorably. She watched his strong chest rise and fall rhythmically with each of his breaths.

God, she was amazed at how effortless they were together.

It had been a heavenly two weeks since Kate was kidnapped and Collins' men had been captured and put into custody. Two blissful weeks of waking up in Richard Castle's arms.

She craved him... She craved his attention, his little touches, his intense gazes, his frisky sword-play. She enjoyed coming home from the precinct with him. She loved having intimate breakfasts with him first thing in the morning and cooking dinner for him late at night. She loved the domesticity of it all and was stunned by how intrinsically he'd woven himself into every facet of her life, … into her heart, body and soul.

She was surprised by how natural it felt to be with him 24/7, and even more surprised that she wasn't scared shitless by their connection.

They'd only spent one night apart since their new-found relationship. She thought she needed some distance from him, but being alone in her apartment had had the opposite effect. They'd stayed up for an hour texting naughty, dirty things to one another and by the time they'd finally said 'good night,' she was just too wound up and couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about his sexy voice, the way he revered her name while exploring her body; the way his thick tongue felt on her small breasts, the way his breathing stuttered just before he climaxed... After that night, Kate determined not to deceive herself any longer and admitted to herself that she wanted to jump full throttle into this relationship with him.

_Jesus, I'm in a relationship with Rick Castle, _and she couldn't resist reaching out and running her fingers through his thick hair. She leaned into him and breathed in deeply his unique, 'Castle' scent, which sent a tug of arousal to her center. She brushed her lips over each of his closed eyelids.

"Mmmm," came his sleepy response. And his arm reached out, snaked around her and tugged her close, nestling her intimately against his large frame. "Why are you up so early, beautiful?" He kissed the top of her head. "Are you nervous about today?"

"No, I'm not nervous. Just a bit anxious for Katrina is all."

"Don't worry." He rubbed up and down her back reassuringly. "We both know the D.A. won't prosecute. She and her sister will go into the Witness Protection Program in exchange for her testifying against Collins' organization."

"I know; I shouldn't worry, but it's all based off our testimonies today."

"Yes, and Katrina is safe because the most extraordinary NYC detective and her plucky sidekick have her back."

He could feel her grin at his neck.

"Kate," he asked hesitatingly, "Are you worried about having to disclose what happened to you after being kidnapped?"

She sighed. "A little. I'm more worried about a nosy reporter getting a hold of our statements."

"Don't. Gates promised that both our testimonies would be sealed. We can trust her."

"I know." She couldn't resist the temptation of his delicious, lean neck any longer so she placed her lips at his pulse point and sucked eagerly.

It shocked her each and every time that all it took was one touch of her lips to have him at full-mast, ready and roarin' to go. His erection pressed eagerly into her hip bone making her feel deliciously desired, making her panties damp.

He growled. "Don't start something that we don't have time to finish."

"Ohhh," she purred hotly into his neck, "we both know that I love it immensely when Speedy Gonzales comes out to play." Her lips burned a trail up his neck, and over his stubbled jaw, to his manly chin and then finally attacked his anxiously awaiting lips.

Kate gave him an open-mouthed, curl-your-toes, drop-dead, tongue-to-tongue kiss while her hand plummeted daringly downwards to grab ahold of his member.

_Christ!_

She continued to stroke him possessively through his boxers while her lips wreaked havoc over his.

Castle emitted a sexy, frustrated moan, which sent her heart into a frenzy. Her skin buzzed anew in anticipation.

He grudgingly drew back from her tempting mouth and said huskily, "What if I prefer," he paused, and before she could even blink, he'd moved from beneath her, flipped her onto her stomach and his large, warm hands slid down her silk bikini underwear, revealing her tempting tattoo, … "to play the Tazmanian Devil?"

Her panties were tossed aside before he placed a searing kiss to an angel wing.

She squirmed beneath his lips as his teeth took over, nibbling and marking the tattoo as his own.

"Mmmm, devil it is." She whispered, intoxicated by his mouth.

Her loins clenched in desire as his hands pulled her legs 8 inches apart… One rugged, writer hand dragged along her inner thigh, causing her breath to hitch, and her skin to quiver in need.

And then, _then,_ his dexterous fingers lightly, teasingly, cascaded over her sensitive core, checking to see if she was ready for him. The sensation heightened the tingling awareness shooting through every nerve in her body;_ Shit_, she already felt the first spark of a brilliant firework, signaling her pending orgasm.

"Your ass is perfect." And his hands molded and kneaded her butt cheeks, occasionally sliding down her long, luscious legs and then erotically moving them back up her inner thighs, skimming over her wet heat with just the perfect amount of pressure.

She gazed over her shoulder and leered at him with pure, unadulterated lust. "I need you inside me, Rick."

Shockingly, in a move he hadn't done before, he roughly pinned her wrists above her head with one hand and with his other, slid it beneath her hips and yanked her back towards him, forcing her on her knees.

When she realized his intention, Kate stifled a sob as he knew this position drove her over the edge into ecstasy faster than any other method.

And_ fuck,_ he was certainly the devil when he teased her mercilessly with the erratic pulsing of his hips, barely sinking into her wet folds and drawing back again, making her shudder beneath his teasing member.

He was a master in the art of consummation, bringing her to the brink of bliss, and then abruptly retreating, making her whimper at the sudden loss of his manhood… His fingers shimmied her lavender camisole up her sides so his lips had access to her bare, lithe back. His mouth found the divot of her spinal column and placed, lingering, seductive kisses along the ridge of her spine.

He picked up speed with his thrusts.

Kate crossed her arms and grabbed the headboard for leverage as his movements were slowly edging her forward.

He groaned when she tilted her hips for better traction; the new angle skyrocketing their passion.

His tongue swirled a path of volcanic heat down the center of her back; her spine automatically curved upward into his wet mouth. She gasped at the sensation of his early morning stubble scraping along the tender flesh.

"Kate?"

And she knew immediately what he was telling her and asking her at the same time.

"I'm close. Just - -"

His fingernails dug into her pelvis as he gripped her from behind and pulled, angling her derriere so that it was perfectly adjacent to his hips.

"Fuck_," _he hissed at the new angle of entry as he penetrated her roughly, … completely, … filling her to the hilt.

And that was Kate's breaking point.

She arched backwards and her muscles tensed as the orgasm slammed into her with such ferocity that she couldn't breathe. She was blown away in an explosion of bright, hot light; the embers of the fire scorching her skin repeatedly as she screamed his name in ecstasy.

Castle toppled over the crest in the next instant, depositing his seed into her as wave after wave of euphoria slammed into him, - - so powerful, - - that he lost the ability to think or even speak. He could only feel.

**...**

Afterwards, they both held their positions for several seconds.

Kate tried to calm down her erratic breathing.

_That was_ _the most incredible sex of my life._ She tried to grasp the enormity of what had just happened between them. This was new for her.

Rick tried to process the overwhelming rush of emotion flowing through his body. He had thought that his connection to Kate couldn't get any stronger, that he couldn't love her any more than he already did, but this experience showed him differently. She truly was the one woman who completed him, made him whole.

Both of them realized they had just shared an out-of-this-world, one-of-a-kind connection that neither one had experienced before during sex.

Kate moved first. She slipped away from him and immediately felt a sense-of-loss. She rolled onto her back and pulled him on top of her.

"Richard Castle," she breathed against his lips. "Do you have any idea what you do to me?" Her hands ran endearingly over his trapezius muscles.

He smiled cockily. "Well, if your screams are any indication, I certainly do have an idea."

She lightly swatted him and looked intensely into his beautiful, blue eyes.

"I love you, you know."

And there were the 3 words that he had longed to hear from her since he realized his own love for her over a year ago. His heart soared.

She didn't think it was possible, but his cocky grin spread even wider, reminding her of a haughty, Cheshire cat.

He couldn't help himself from saying, "I know, Kate… It's just about damn time that you admitted it to yourself."

She glared teasingly at him, shook her head, and then shoved him off her.

"Heeey," he said, snagging her around the waist and drawing him back to her. Castle searched her lovely, hazel eyes. He pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear before leaning in and whispering, "I love you too, - - so God damn much." He peppered kisses along her cheek. "More than you can imagine, Kate... There aren't words to describe how much I love you."

A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Yeah, well it's just a good thing then that I plan on keeping you around the precinct for a few more years… Come on, Partner, it's time to get ready for work."

And as her hand clasped his and drew him from the bed, Rick Castle had never felt more like her Partner in his entire life.


End file.
